Young Justice, Season 3: Regenerations
by MegGyver
Summary: The team continues the battle for justice while trying to continue with their lives after the losses suffered in the aftermath of the Reach invasion. The Light's new partners are far more powerful and more deadly than anything they have faced before. Facing new enemies and new allies. Or is there an even deeper plot beneath the coming Apocalypse. SCENE ADDED TO END OF CHAP 2!
1. Episode 1: Steps

**Episode 1: Steps**

* * *

 **APOKOLIPS: July 5, 00:16 UTC**

Vandal Savage stepped through the Boom Tube and into the palace halls of Apokolips. He passed wordlessly by Dessad and Gordon Godfried, standing together and speaking in hushed tones, without breaking stride, not even half glancing their way.

He wasn't here for pleasantries. Not that he was likely to get any on this planet.

He moved out onto the large platform balcony and up to his gracious host, who was standing at the edge looking out at his world. As he walked, Savage reveled in the power around him, relishing in the fact that his own planet would soon be as evolved as Apokolips. He stopped a foot or so behind the ruler of this world.

The immortal was struck with a sense of deja-vu. Standing just behind the great and powerful man was too similar to the many times throughout Earth's history, where he had been the one in the shadows, whispering ideas and plans into the ears of great conquerors and kings. Leading them to strength and victory and power.

But that was in the past. No longer would he stand aside and let the weak rule, not his planet, not his Earth. He would not be content simply guiding the evolution of man. Now, now he would pave the way to the future of mankind.

The hulking, stone-like figure ahead of him turned and held out his hand. Savage did the same. Powerful hands gripped each other firmly at the wrist.

The deal was finished. The bargain made.

"Business as usual."

* * *

 **Theme song!**

Batgirl hastily dodged a laser blast that would have fried her black kevlar cape into ashes. She landed smoothly into a roll and whipped a batarang out of her belt, sending it spinning towards the wall-mounted blaster. Upon impact, the device beeped red for a few moments before exploding and reducing the laser to a pile of charred metal debris.

She allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction before another laser blast from behind almost took her head off.

"Yo, Red, hit the deck!" Lagoon Boy's familiar voice triggered her defensive instincts and, without hesitation, she ducked behind a solitary wall. Chancing a look behind the panel , she saw one of the large, zeta-class robots moving towards her and shooting volley after volley of energy bolts in her general direction.

It was lucky she moved when she did. Moments after her dash for cover, Lagoon Boy's body expanded into a mountain of solid muscle. The Atlantean gave a loud, furious cry before smashing a scaled fist straight through the robot's metal torso.

But the hero wasn't done yet. He grabbed the bot with both hands and, with a spinning toss, pitched it into two more of the approaching robots.

Batgirl rose from her position and moved to stand by Lagan's side as he shrank back to his normal build. He tried to hide it, but the water dweller was clearly exhausted, bent over his hands on his knees and covered in dust and soot alike. Still, Lagan managed a confidence in his voice, even as he struggled to catch his breath.

"This… _(_ _gasp)_...better not be...the best these guys can throw at us…I'm barely breaking a swea-ahh!" his boast turned to a yelp as Blue Beatle crashed into his back, knocking both boys to the floor.

"Ugh…what was that you were saying ese? I can't hear a thing over the ringing in my ears!" Blue Beatle attempted to pull himself off the ground but had to work to disentangle himself from Lagan's lean limbs. The blue-clad hero rubbed the back of his head, due to more than sheepishness if the pained tone evident in his voice was any indication.

Batgirl helped pull the guys up to their feet, just in time for another round of electronic attacks. Lagan prepared to enlarge again while Batgirl and Blue pulled out their weapons. The robots raised their own lasers, preparing to fire when-

The lights turned on. The robots powered down, and the remaining wall lasers pulled themselves back into the built in compartments.

"Fail: Training group: B" The metallic female voice of the computer resounded through the training room. Batgirl winced at the announcement. It was like the stupid, emotionless thing felt the need to broadcast their shortcomings to the entire world.

The doors to the training room slid open with a metallic hiss, and the three heroes, defeated, walked through the hall, quietly nursing their tired muscles and bruised egos. Their uniforms and bodies were covered in scorch marks and rips, though luckily they knew it was nothing a change of clothes and a long, hot shower wouldn't fix.

Despite their discomfort, the three young heroes did not hesitate to pause at a window, to take in a view that would never grow old. For, far above the Earth, the Justice League Watchtower stood strong, silent and stoic as always, orbiting the Earth like a satellite, waiting to respond to any call for help.

 **WATCHTOWER: July 7th, 10:22 EDT**

Finally, the walk of shame that was the hallway came to an end and a set of doors opened up to one of the many lounges on board, where sofas, chairs and a coffee table eagerly awaited them. Lounged on two of those couches were three other members of their team.

Wonder Girl, Robin and Static all looked just as terrible as Barbara felt. Dirty uniforms, full of rips and scratches made it apparent that they hadn't changed yet, choosing instead to watch her own group try their luck at the Justice League training room. Over the past week the team had been encouraged to try out their skills against the training programs used by the League, and Kaldur had been the quick to suggest that they first tried it in groups so they wouldn't be too overwhelmed.

Just whelmed, she thought humorously, only for the humor to be replaced by sadness at the thought.

"So...how'd we do?" Jaime asked as his Blue Scarab armor shrank and uncovered his civilian clothing. He was still breathing heavy, despite the fact his suit had taken most of the damage.

"Ya…we beat your score…by a mile didn't we" Lagan asked, still gasping for breath. He gratefully took a water bottle offered by Cassie, taking a sip then poured the rest over his head haphazardly. He sighed in relief as the water hit his skin.

"Congratulations, you guys lasted a whole four seconds longer than we did." Virgil or Static, the newest member of the Team, said sardonically. He was spread out on one of the sofas, with his blue baseball hat pulled down halfway over his eyes.

"So, between the six of us, our total time comes to…eight minutes and twenty two point three-two-five seconds." Robin, the snarky little brat that he was, piped up without tearing his eyes away from his laptop screen. Batgirl did not appreciate the sarcasm.

"Oh come on, we can't even break the ten-minute mark?" Barbara felt the frustration build in her gut.

"Ugh! I know! The seniors make it look so easy, too. Did you see Conner in there this morning, he was going strong solo even after twenty minutes!" Cassie's hands combed through a handful of her hair again and again, a nervous gesture that Barbara was sure the Wonder Girl had picked up from Dinah.

Batgirl felt like saying something, whether it was going to be inspiring or depressing she wasn't sure, but she was saved by the watchtower intercom going off and Kaldur's voice resonating throughout the lounge. Robin (finally) looked up from his laptop and Static sat up, pulling his hat up over his dreadlocks.

"Gamma, Report to briefing room C." the teens glanced at each other briefly and pulled themselves painfully, to their feet. After taking a heavenly moment to groan unanimously, they set off towards the briefing room as instructed.

Kaldur was waiting for them when they arrived. He was busy pulling up their data files on the Light and Vandal Savage onto the large holoscreens, not even bothering to acknowledge them before starting to inform them of the situation.

"Given the internal damage suffered by The Light during the aftermath of the reach invasion, including the arrest of The Brain, Deathstroke, and Black Manta…" Kaldur pulled up stills of the mentioned villains, each with the word 'Incarcerated' in big red letters across the photo.

Barbara ignored the tiny hesitation in Kaldur's voice when Black Manta's picture came up. She had the feeling the others noticed too, and she was grateful that everyone had enough tact to know that it was still to soon to bring it up with Aqualad. Kaldur continued the briefing.

"As well as the heavy injury suffered by Ra's al Ghul, which should leave him out of action…for now at least." As Kaldur spoke, he brought up an image of the assasin lord. This picture had 'Location Unknown' written over it in the same red print as the others.

Once again, no one pointed out what they all knew to be true. They had no idea exactly how long "for now" was, Ra's al Ghul had the bad habit of outrunning death at every turn, and however long he was out for would probably be shorter than expected.

"As we stand now," Kaldur continued, "Vandal Savage's next move will be impossible to predict with any kind of certainty. But yesterday we came across a very promising lead." He pulled up a video file as the other six listened wordlessly.

The footage was shot from the upper corner of some kind of laboratory. The time stamp said two thirty this morning. She and Robin had found it while fishing through news reports and police files the night before, during a coffee break. The quality of the video was terrible (cheap security cameras, she thought to herself, an annoyed frown tugging at her lips), but the interesting part was still clear enough to make out.

About a ten seconds into the footage, a swirling, white portal appeared a little ways away from a wall. A few seconds passed, and three or four shadowy figures made their way through the the swirling mass. They were large and lizard like, with long limbs and longer claws, small heads and sweeping tails. But beyond that very little detail could be made out, the room was dark aside from the backlight of the portal, and the intruders were hidden in shadows. The figures immediately spread out, searching the room, frantically pulling open drawers and knocking over tables. This continued for mere moments, before one of the creatures caught sight of the camera.

It stared at it for quite some time, and the quality of the screen was just good enough to make out chilling, yellow eyes wide and unblinking. Then, as suddenly as the portal had appeared, it pulled out a handgun sized mechanism (which Barbara assumed was some kind of blaster) and shot the camera.

Electric snow filled the screen.

Aqualad shrank the window down and pulled up an image of the newspaper that had covered the break in. The headline read "THIRD GEOLOGY LAB ROBBED!", and the paper was complete with a large photo of the trashed laboratory, obviously taken several hours after the robbery itself.

"Stolen rocks? That's the best lead we can come up with?" Barbara rolled her eyes at Lagan's incredulous tone and elbowed him in the side. The satisfying grunt was interrupted by Aqualad. He cleared his throat and reclaimed the attention of the room.

"This is the first sign we have had of The Light since the Reach invasion ended. To go to such extreme measures for apparently such meager gain? We need to investigate." Kaldur gave Lagan a scolding look and the younger Atlantean had the decency to look abashed.

"How do we even know it was them?" Jaime questioned, "I mean, it could be any small time crook."

Robin was shaking his head before Blue had even finished speaking. "The portal that you saw? It's an exact match of a blueprint for a transportation system we managed to take from The Light a while back. So either it's them, or it's someone they supply to."

"Or," Barbara interrupted, "it's someone who stole it from them."

Robin acknowledged her with a nod. "Either way, it's a connection."

Kaldur nodded at Robin meaningfully, tilted his head in a gesture. Barbra could see Tim take a deep breath to prepare himself before he walked up to the screen.

He tapped out a few commands before three photos of different buildings pulled up on the screen, along with a few catalogues of mineral identification.

"So far all three robberies have occurred at labs or private collections that work on the identification of unknown rocks and minerals. And as far as anyone can tell, only the still unidentified samples have been taken. We're pretty sure that this is their next target." He pulled up a forth location, a large compound of white buildings on a grass covered hill above a rocky beach. "A StarLabs facility outside of Coos Bay, Oregon."

"Robin will be running Gamma, your mission is to find out exactly who is committing these thefts, and what they are after. Engage only if necessary." Kaldur looked at them meaningfully before continuing with a slight, supportive smile on his face that was obviously meant to relax them. Barbara could feel it working.

"Call for backup if you feel the need." He shut down the holo-screen, and addressed them a final time. "And watch out for each other. I fear this is the beginning of a whole new strategy. We have to stay sharp until we know exactly what we are dealing with.

* * *

 **COOS BAY: July 8th, 04:59 EST**

Robin had developed a love-hate relationship with being squad leader.

On one hand; he was in charge! With all the responsibility of the mission on his shoulders alone.

On the other hand; he was in charge! With all the responsibility of the mission on his shoulders alone.

He always felt the need to remind himself that Robin could handle that kind of responsibility. But then he would realize that maybe, just maybe Tim Drake wasn't ready for that much pressure.

Sometimes when he was feeling really depressed, he would watch old footage of Dick when he had been Robin. It discouraged him even as it inspired him. Tim saw Dick as the golden standard of 'Robin-Hood', as Barbara had once called it when he had confided in her, and Tim wanted more than anything to live up to that standard.

Maybe that's what having an older brother is like…

He shook himself out of his thoughts and tried to focus on the matter at hand, activating the comm in his ear.

"Report, any sign so far?" he ignored the pointed look from Barbara, who was keeping watch in the tree branch above him.

"No trouble down deep, Minnows." Came from Lagoon Boy and Blue Beetle, who were keeping watch from the shore below the laboratory. But after five long hours of nothing, they were instead passing the time by skipping rocks along the surface of the ocean.

"No sign of anything…just like the last ten times we checked in." Cassie grumbled under her breath from where she and Static lounged around in the camouflaged bioship.

"We can't even be sure that this is the place that's gonna get hit next, right?" Static was perched on one of the seats, absently creating little pictures in the air with his electricity, a bird, a fish, a tic-tac-toe game. He was the first to question the solidarity of this plan...the first in the last hour anyway.

Back at the beach, Jaime leaned back against a rock with his arms crossed behind his head. He absent mindedly watched Lagan throw another rock into the sea. Eleven skips, which, according to the fish boy, was about the Atlantean average. Upon hearing Static's complaint, he activated his own comm and answering back.

"Dude, Kaldur said this was our best bet for some action. So we wait and see-" he was cut off by the metallic voice of the Scarab buzzing in the back of his head.

 _"_ _Apokaliptain energy detected. Preemptive action is advised_!" Jaime felt the wings on his suit expand and the sonic canon on his arm build itself from the Blue Beatle armor. He jerked to his feet and looked up the side of the cliff, toward the laboratory.

"Heads up guys, we got Apokalitian energy readings heading our way." No sooner had he spoken, several of the lab windows lit up with a white flash.

Robin pulled the binoculars from his face before leaping gracefully down from the tree.

"Move in."

The hallway was long and dark and quiet...at least, it was before some certain teenagers ruined the peace. A feminine "Ouch, watch it!", followed by a metallic bong, and a male voice replying "Ow! You watch it!" echoed from the ceiling or, more specifically, from the air vents.

An electric field unscrewed the vents and gently lowered the grate to the ground, and Supergirl's head popped out of the opening, long blond hair pulled by gravity far beyond her head. And, just like that, any remnants of stealth that the team might have had was gone.

"Coast's clear!" She squeaked in a whisper that was both quiet and loud at the same time. She let herself drop from the ceiling, twisting midair to land on her feet.

Virgil opted to just come down the standard way, dropping from the vent feet first. Upon landing he used his powers to refasten the vent cover. Then he looked to Cassie for orders. He felt that, despite his time with The Runaways, she had far more experience at the whole 'Mission' thing than he did.

"Now where?"

Wonder Girl looked thoughtful as she glanced down both ends of the hallway, but before she could make a decision, a loud crash! along with a low scratchy growl came from the left. The two young heroes glanced at each other.

"That way." they spoke simultaneously, and pointed down the hall before dashing down into the darkness.

On the opposite side of the building, Robin plugged his hologlove into the buildings mainframe. The hard light screen above his forearm showed the surveillance feeds from six cameras, and none of them showed anything but empty hallways.

Batgirl made her way stealthily back into the room. She had been checking the other rooms in the wing for anything suspicious, and now she looked at the newest Boy Wonder with an unsatisfied frown decorating her face. Tim felt his anxiety and frustration building.

"Ugh! There's nothing here! There has to be something! Blue Beetle, are you sure that the scarab picked something up?" At the last sentence he activated his com and called over the radio. His frustration leaked into his voice, and even Robin himself could hear the nervous strain behind his words.

"I'm telling you man, I did pick something up!" The crackle of the earwig only seemed to solidify Blue Beetles sureness.

"And don't forget that we all saw that freaky lightshow." Lagoon Boy added as he and Blue Beetle turned the corner and came to yet another empty lab. Jaime tried flicking the light switch a few times but it did no good. Lagan swung his flashlight around the dark, abandoned space. It fell upon a few desks full of unlabeled rocks and a pile of picture guidebooks for mineral classification.

"This is definitely the right place, but it looks like nothings been taken yet." He turned to his teammate of whom the comment had been aimed at, despite the comm being on.

Blue Beetle walked around the room slowly. Scarab scanned for any unusual energies, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Nothing ese. Whatever I was picking up, it's not here now." Jaime looked out the window. The moon was high and the sky was clear. Coupled with the view of the rocky beach and the ocean, it was pleasant.

Something wasn't right.

It was too perfect, too peaceful, and his gut said they weren't alone.

He was turning back to Lagan to relay his hunch when he saw it.

A shadowy silhouette running down down the hall past the door way. The silhouette of a big, scalesd and long tailed something. His reflexes took control.

"There!" The wings of his armor snapped open and he was flying down the hall after the figure in a split second. He could hear Lagan following close after him on foot while radioing the others, telling them that they had found their target.

"We've got visual," he breathed frantically, "pursuing down the south hall. And whatever this thing is, it's definitely not human."

That was the understatement of the year. It was still eerily dark, with only the dim moonlight from the windows and the dull beam of the now wildly swinging flashlight illuminating the hall, but they could still make out the gruesome details.

It wasn't pretty. It looked a bit like, Jaime realized, a part lizard, part robot and part piranha, mutant hybrid.

The stuff of nightmares. And, coming from someone who faced evil every other day, this was saying a lot.

They came to a T in the hallway, and the thing, instead of racing left or right, leaped onto the wall in front of it then spring boarded off and straight toward Blue Beetle, its razor sharp claws at the ready.

Jaime had no warning, and no time to dodge the attack. The thing rammed into him, forcing him to the ground. The air was knocked from his lungs, accompanied by a cry of pain as he skidded across the hard tile floor, the creature on top of his chest, its weight pushing on Jaime heavily. His eyes shut in reflex, and when he did manage to open them again he was confronted with a horror show.

Gold metal clashed against vomit green scales and neon blue veins. A metal helmet covered the things eyes, but the creature's large mouth, full of razor white teeth, was free to wrestle with Jaime's desperate arms in an attempt to, presumably, bite his head off.

Blue Beetle managed to force his forearm under the thing's neck in order to keep it from chewing on his face, while his other hand got a hold of one of the thing's wrists. The monster kept thrashing and clawing at him almost urgently.

Out of nowhere, however, the beast reared up and off of Blue Beetle's body. It was suddenly much more interested in Lagoon Boy, who had been pulling on its tail in a desperate attempt to save his friend.

"Hey, hammerhead! Mess with someone your own size!" Lagan's body expanded at the line. The two were about the same size now, though the lizard thing may have had an edge with the extra limb, the tail that was still tightly gripped in Lagoon Boy's webbed hands.

The creature let out a loud and very angry shriek that had Jaime covering his ears. It then leapt back and smashed claws-first into Lagan. The two fell backwards, crashing through one of the hallway's walls.

Stone and dust rained around Blue Beatle, who was still stunned in a ball on the floor. He might have stayed frozen there indefinitely if an electric version of his own voice hadn't buzzed through his mind at that very second.

 _"_ _Jaime Reyes! You must engage! Our enemy is of Apokoliptian Origins: Not Compatible."_

That certainly snapped him out of his brain freeze. He shook his head to clear his thoughts, then forced himself to rise to his feet and start moving. His entire body shook with adrenalin, and his steps were wobbly. Finally he managed to lean against the new hole in the wall. He could hear the fight carrying on in the near distance, and he could just about make out the shadowy forms. He couldn't tell who was winning.

His hand finally steadied enough for him to activate his comm.

"Guys we're engaged with the creature; we need backup fast. We're in the south hall near the-"

"Sorry but kind of have our hands full here." Cassie had to cut him off while she could from where she was trapped in the arms of a super gross, super ugly robot lizard thing.

She had been pounding her free fist against the things face when the request for backup buzzed into her ear. Those monster things were really strong. And, apparently, punch resistant.

Jaime's voice trailed to the back of her mind as she was forced back into battle. The creature tossed her into the ceiling, directly into an inset light fixture. The sting of glass shards and the burn of electricity shot through her before she landed in a smoking heap on the floor.

She recovered quickly, however, and managed to roll out of the way as the monsters closed fists closed in on her. The tile twisted and cracked under the force, and a large crater was left in the exact spot her head had been not three seconds before.

"Uhm, gulp…" she thought outloud nervously.

She flew backwards as it made another swipe at her with its claws. The thing growled, annoyed with the resistance, but before it could try again a metal chair and a computer screen flew into the monster's head. It stumbled, stunned for a split second, before it turned toward her the source of the meager attack.

Her partner, Static, was surrounded by a light blue field of electricity. His face was determined as he shot out his hands and a literal wave of electric energy slammed into the monster. The creature went colliding into a wall of computers, then fell to the ground, stunned again. The electronics crashed on top of its still form.

Cassie was impressed, and was about to say as much when she looked back at Virgil and saw him leaning heavily against one of the lab tables. He had obviously exhausted himself with such a massive explosion of power.

"Oh my gosh! Are you ok?" She flew to his side and pulled one of his arms over her shoulder for support. He shuddered and leaned into her as he tried to collect himself, though he did manage to give her a cocky grin.

"That depends, did I win?"

Cassie chuckled at his cheek. Up until now she hadn't really known what to make of Virgil Hawkins. She didn't know him very well, and there had not been a lot of time recently to try and get to know him in a casual "not in uniform" setting. His time in the "employment" of Lex Luthor and the chrysalis thing aside, he had never been on a mission before. They had done some training together since the end of the invasion, but he had always been a bit quiet and obviously a little nervous around them, still unsure of his role amongst all the famous heroes.

But she was finding herself starting to like his optimism and tendency to joke his troubles away. She had a feeling that he would fit in with the team just fine.

Before she could say anything supportive, however, the creature burst out again from under the pile of broken electronics, it's body still twitching in response to the electric attack. Despite this, it barely paused as it barred its claws and fangs at them, letting out a loud snarling roar as it rushed at them again.

Cassie groaned, annoyed. "This thing doesn't give up."

Half a building away, Blue Beetle shot another sonic blast at the creature. It raised its arms in defense, though the force still pushed it back a foot or so. Other than that, there was little effect...that is until Lagan punched him straight in the snout when it looked up again. There was a satisfying crunch and the creature fell back, straight into a window. A rain of glass shards and twisted metal followed the creature as it landed brutally on the rocky ground surrounding the building. As the boys watched, curiously, it twitched a bit, then a burst of electricity ran through its body, effectively stopping it moving at all.

Jaime whistled appreciatively while Lagan tried to catch his breath and reached for his comm.

"Ok, one down. We totally had that handled." Before he could say anything else, though, Robin's voice both echoed from his ear and from a small way behind him.

"Good, then you can help us handle this one!" He and Batgirl practically leapt through the broken door. The bird turned to toss a pair of birdarangs at yet another snarling mutated monster that was pursuing the pair.

The small explosions in its face caused the beast to slip on the dusty tiles, and slide past the open doorway and down the hall. The ear-bleeding sound of razor sharp claws on tile was painful, but it at least gave the young heroes a few seconds to regroup.

"What are these things?!" Batgirl asked as she pulled her grappler into one hand and a batarang into the other.

"Scarab says they're from Apokolips. I think they're some kind of foot soldiers, maybe." Jaime readied his cannon as he relayed the little bit of the information that the Scarab had been able to uncover. Lagoon Boy had expanded his body in preparation for another battle and Robin pulled his collapsible bo staff from his belt. His expression was grim.

The creature jumped through the doorway, landing with a thud, and made to pounce on them when something equally as large and loud crashed through the ceiling and landed on top of the monster. The combined weight of the two monsters, and the force in which the second had been hit with, was too much for the floor below and, with a loud crash, the floor shattered and ripped open under the burden. The two monsters disappeared in the darkness of the room below. And judging by the sound of things, neither one was moving.

Jaime swore quietly in spanish.

"Oh sorry, did we interrupt?" Wondergirl floated down from the hole in the ceiling, Static followed down a second later on his flying disc. Both looked satisfied, but also simultaneously dirty, bruised and tired.

All six heroes moved to examine the large hole in the floor.

It was almost pitch black. Lagan had long ago lost his flashlight, so Robin and Batgirl each pulled out one of their own from their belts and shone beams of light into the darkness below. Judging by the metal pipes lining the walls and the large wooden crates stacked all over, it was a storage space of some kind.

"Soooo, we drawing straws to see who goes first? Or-?" Jaime didn't get to finish as a peircing, high pitched ringing suddenly filled his ears. Lights sizzled on and off as Blue Beatle fell to the ground, his hands clawing over his ears. He yelled in pain as the scarab's voice filled his mind.

 _"_ _Not Compatible! Not Compatible_ _! Not Compatible!"_ Over and over, again and again until the words blurred into one scathing, emotionless noise. The sound ripped through his brain, shredding his thoughts until all he could contemplate was the pain.

"Blue! What's wrong?" Cassie, on her knees, clutched at the teen's hand as he writhed on the floor. Lagoon Boy attempted to hold the armored hero down, though it did little. The ringing sound was heavy around them, but apparently only painful to Blue Beetle.

A deep throated chuckle came from the open door, and the conscious heroes tensed and surrounded their fallen comrade. A tall and lean humanoid silhouette stepped into the dimly lit laboratory, an intimidating aura surrounding it.

The being looked to have been made for the sole purpose of combat. He was tall and imposing, arms and legs both corded with muscles on top of muscles. Olive skin contrasted against the dark green armor that covered his legs and his chest. His arms were bare except for a set of green gloves with spikes on the knuckles. A literal mane of glossy black hair surrounded a face in a way that looked more lion than human, and the unnaturally pointed ears that poked out and the yellow, fanged teeth only strengthened the effect.

One massive hand fondly patted a device on his belt, black, red and silver with bits of circuitry running across the surface. It buzzed away as the tone emanating from it continued.

"Reach technology, truly pathetic against the power of Apokolips." the large man boasted as he watched Jamie cried out again, the sound getting louder.

The realization that the cause of their teammates pain was the person before them took only a second, and to defend their comrade, the heroes moved to action as one.

Robin and Batgirl both threw a set of bird/batarangs at the remote. But the man raised his other arm to defend the device. The bat weapons went off, the concentrated explosions combusting against his arm, but when the smoke cleared there wasn't even a scratch on the man's skin.

"So you humans are what have given my Parademons such trouble?" The fanged smile only grew as the team fell into battle stances.

Wonder Girl, forever strong of heart if not always strong of self control, was still pumped from her victory over the attacking monsters (or, as they were newly named, Parademons), and was now raging because this wacko was hurting her friend.

"Who are y-!"

But a new noise, a loud screeching one, interrupted her. One of the Parademons crashed up through the ground floor. Neon blue liquid dripped down from cuts on its limbs, one of its wings was gone altogether and one arm fell uselessly on its joint, but still it stood.

In its working arm, it clutched a small metal case. About as big as a laptop, but a few times thicker. It crouched, and the team got ready for an attack, but it seemed the feral, mindless creature that they had battled before had vanished, and it instead knelt to the ground before the dark figure at the doorway.

He took the metal case from the kneeling Parademon and opened it, took a quick look inside then snapped it shut. He smiled at the cowering creature before him kindly, then in one deadly movement backhanded the half dead beast into the wall behind him. The Parademon smashed through the thin inner walls like butter, going through three walls before stopping. Broken and beaten, it lay on the floor of an office space.

"Such pathetic bugs" He said with a superior smirk. It took Cassie all of two mili-seconds to realize that he didn't mean the monster he had just launched halfway through the building, but was talking about her and her friends.

"Who you calling a bug!" she flew at the guy, fully intending to ram her fist straight through his stupid face-

But he caught her fist. Mid flight, just like she was nothing, he had stopped her. She managed to cover up the flash of shock by pulling back her other fist for a close up strike and-

He caught that fist too, in a horrifying parody of a friendly handholding.

She struggled for a moment, suddenly scared. She pulled desperately against the hands that held her captive, going as far as to fly backwards in an attempt to put some distance between them, but he only brought her closer. Right up close so she was mere centimeters from his face.

"Normally such insolence would bring my endless wrath down upon you." He growled, then, for the first time, he seemed to acknowledged the young heroes as more than 'pathetic bugs', and a look that was a cross between amused and annoyed made it's way into his face.

When he slammed her against the wall. The hit stunned her. He was strong, stronger even than the Parademons. He continued to speak.

"Yet I will indulge your question. For it is your last."

But she didn't have time to make head or tails of what he was saying before he tossed her across the laboratory and into the exterior facing wall. The plaster cracked under the pressure, though she didn't quite go through the wall, the unfortunate reason being the support beam that she could feel under the metal and steel.

As she fell forward and hit the ground, she had a vague impression of glass and dust dancing around her. A superior voice surrounded her.

"Know that it is the mighty Kalibak of Apokolips that will destroy you, and this planet."

Cassie's vision went dark.

* * *

 **COOS BAY: July 8th, 05:09 EST**

There was a stunned second of shock and disbelief. Wonder Girl, the same Wonder Girl that had stood against Devistation, Mongol of Warworld and had even held her own against Black Beetle and the entire Reach army…

had gone down in less than five seconds.

Then the shock was gone and the anger hit them hard.

Then were moving.

Then they were attacking.

And then they were losing.

Lagoon Boy grew to full size and managed to get a few hits in, but they didn't even seem to faze Kalibak. With a backhanded hit to his expanded chest, the Atalantian was knocked up into the ceiling. He flew upwards, up at least three stories, and then back down again. When Lagan fell to the ground a good chunk of cement and metal fell down with him, knocking him out. The light of the rising sun seeped into the room from the top floor ceiling. The fish boy groaned but didn't move any further.

Static threw every metal object he could reach with his powers at the beast man. Chairs and desks and computers, even whole cabinets bent to the boy's will as he tried to subdue the enemy. But he was already tired, and was fighting a losing battle with unconsciousness.

Robin and Batgirl tossed more explosives at him. Then closed in for combat. Robin's bo staff hit the side of Kalibak's face, only for him to grab the staff and fling it and the Boy Wonder across the room and straight into Static. Both boys tumbled to the ground.

Kalibak paused a moment to savor his superiority, but then noticed a small beeping device on his shoulder. Before he could move the gadget detonated and a green smoke surrounded the Apokoliptian.

Batgirl used the opening and launched her grappler at the alien. Robin had recovered enough to do the same.

Tangled up in two separate lines Kalibak seemed trapped, but before the Team could even dare to hope that they had a chance, Kalibak managed to get a grip of Batgirls's line and whipped her around and straight into Robin. With both cables loosened, Kalibak easily slipped free-

Only to be blasted from behind. He stumbled forward under the onslaught of energy. Blue Beetle had recovered from the Apokoliptian sound weapon. Kalibak reached for his machine, the one that had been keeping the Beetle down, but to his astonishment it was gone. Jaime wasn't flying just yet, but he was doing all he could to keep the fight going in their favor.

Kalibak took a step back and reached for his fatherbox. Only for it to be gone from its place at his belt as well.

"Looking for this?" Batgirl mocked as she held up and waved the transportation device, along with the sound box.

Kalibak grit his fanged teeth, whether it was due to annoyance at being outmaneuvered, or because of the strain of holding against Blue Beetle's ongoing blast attack, no one could tell.

But he managed to grab an overturned desk and lob it in the beetle's direction. Blue managed to avoid it, but it did distract him enough to give Kalibak the opening he needed to charge and punch Blue Beetle in the chest. The young hero flew back into a pile of tables, but quickly started to pull himself back on his feet.

Kalibak glanced around the destroyed room. Batgirl and Robin were back on their feet each pulling out more gadgets from their belts. Lagoon Boy had expanded again and was pulling himself out of the rubble around him. Blue Beetle was trembling with fatigue but on his feet and readying another blast, and Static was supporting a shaky but quickly recovering Wonder Girl to her feet.

Kalibak laughed. These children were stubborn, he would give them that. But they were nothing compared to his strength, and, as he had realized at the beginning of this battle, children. Lacking the experience and resolve that only true warriors combat could grant. They were already battered and broken, and he hadn't even begun to take theoffensive. He laughed at how absurd the odds truly were

"Ha! You are the young heroes that Vandal Savage gave so much credit. You think you can stand against the might of Apokolips? This isn't even a fraction of my full strength." Outnumbered he may be; he would be victorious. But, he remembered, he had more important things to do than indulge these bugs in battle. Unfortunate, he had been almost enjoying himself.

"I could easily bring each of you insects to your knees, begging for me to kill you while I make your deaths last for days." He activated a switch on his gauntlet.

"But I have been ordered to show restraint."

A bright red light started flashing from the Parademon that Kalibak had knocked into the wall, another from the darkness of the hole in the ground. A piece of the unconscious creatures' armors flashed, as did the same piece of armor on the Parademon that had been knocked outside. The rapidly flashing lights were accompanied by the familiar accelerating beeping that only ever accompanied a bomb.

"So I show restraint." He activated something at his belt. Then smiled at the young heroes. "By only killing you."

The explosion destroyed most of the compound. For several miles around the sound of the blast could be heard, and the resounding fireball of devestation could be seen from several boats out at sea.

A fiery implosion forced the structure inward. Metal and concrete twisting and collapsing in on itself and compressing into the absence of space at the center of the blast.

Then a secondary surge of energy blasted outward. Burning heat and electricity moving along the quickest path outward. Metal acting as conduits for the seemingly endless waves of power.

Flame and electricity fused together in a terrifying firestorm of destruction. Metal bent and burnt under the heat and pressure. Stone and cement melted then crumbled as the shockwave passed.

Then only fire remained.

* * *

 **COOS BAY: July 8th, 05:28 EST**

Crushed concrete and red hot iron rod was all that remained as the fire burned all around. Any traces of shattered glass or broken wood had burned up in the aftermath of the fire. Only ash and melted puddles of liquid glass remained. Dust and debris continued to swirl around the now toxic air.

Something moved. Near the edge of the devastation a blue electricity field faded away as the metal around it fell harmlessly to the ground. Static all but fell face first in the dirt from his exhaustion, the barrier that he had held to cover him, Batgirl and Robin having taken up the last of his energy. From behind part of a large stone wall that had been held in place against the force, Wonder Girl, Blue Beetle and Lagoon Boy pushed what was left of their barrier up and away from them and their companions right before they also fell to the ground inches from unconsciousness.

All six heroes were exhausted, dirty and covered in wounds, ash and blood.

But they were all alive.

Barely. The word absently floated through Robin's pain addled mind. He couldn't think straight, but a flash of light from beyond the wall of debree around them forced him to refocus. Still, he could see the black edges working in on his vision.

"Get… down..." Robin whispered and gestured desperately, though he knew that his team was either out cold or in absolutely no shape to move. Another bright flash of white light and a thrumming that sounded like the boom of thunder echoed around them. Robin painstakingly raised his head from the debris to see through a gap in the wall of wreckage surrounding them, covering them, hiding them.

Standing there, appearing completely unharmed apart from a few dust stains on his skin, was Kalibak. He stepped up to the portal, the metal briefcase and his fatherbox both in his hands once again.

Kalibak turned in Robin's direction, obviously pleased with himself, and Robin had a horrible certainty that Kalibak knew exactly where they were, and that they had survived. But the alien only laughed, a laugh that was amused in its sadistic enjoyment of pain and suffering.

"The Light has clearly overstated the abilities of you young heroes, just as you have underestimate the power or Apokolips." He turned away and disappeared into the white energy portal. A moment later the feedback loop stopped, and the portal vanished too.

Robin's vision went blurry. He rolled to his back, grunting and groaning the whole way, then collapsed. He could see the sun rising over the ocean around them. It was a beautiful sight, ruined by the reality that sank into him as the night faded out and the daylight made itself known.

They had lost.

Badly.

His scattered and hurt mind scrambled to make sense of the situation. The team was hurt, their enemy had escaped and an entire Starlabs facility had been destroyed in the process.

Robin's shaky hand rose to his ear. He activated his comm on muscle memory alone, his brain to out of focus to actually think about the task.

"Robin to Watchtower." his voice was shaky and scratched, from the explosion and the smoke most likely. Or maybe injuries. Blood loss? Was he bleeding? He didn't know, couldn't tell. His brain only working on half speed. There was darkness at the edges of his vision.

"Requesting-" a series of ragged coughs interrupted his voice. The dark edges were bigger now. He was so tired. So, so tired.

"Requesting, backup…" Robin leaned back against the earth as darkness filled his vision and he passed out.

There was silence, save for the dying fires around them and the distant sounds of the ocean below.

And that was the scene that the League arrived to, not five minutes later. The sun shined down on the Heroes of Earth as they looked in shock and horror at the devastation left behind, as they rushed the broken and beaten forms of their sidekicks to the watchtower for medical treatment.

* * *

 **WATCHTOWER: July 11th, 12:31 EST**

"Well, all things considered," Static coughed up another bit of insulation "I think that mission didn't go too badly." He felt a lot worse than he now looked. After changing into a hospital gown he could really appreciate the extent of the damage to his new uniform. Full of burn holes and claw gashes. Virgil himself had several cuts and scrapes all over himself, though they were now covered in bandages.

Cassie had woken first and Lagan soon after, but they were all pretty down. They had been out for almost two days. They had basically blown the mission, along with a full research facility, into smithereens.

"You are all alive, and at the end of the day, that is all that matters." That was what Kaldur and the Black Canary had said once they were all conscious. This had comforted Virgil, but he didn't think his folks would feel the same. They were still nervous about the whole superhero thing, after all. He doubted this would do much to help their views.

Robin glared at him from down the row of medical beds, but it had a somewhat lessoned effect with his sunglasses on. His left ankle was now in a brace. Not broken, just a bad sprain according to Red Tornado, and three of his ribs were bruised. Fun. He was about to let the new kid know exactly what he could do with his optimism when a petite but an impossibly strong pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders.

His girlfriend, Cassie (that was still such an exhilarating thought). She looked at him so kindly now. Supportive and full of relaxed confidence. Even covered in bandages and missing one of her earings.

"Oh come on Boy Blunder!" only she could get away with calling him that without getting a punch in the nose) "It could have gone a lot worse and you know it!" she almost punched him in the arm to emphasize her point but she caught herself just in time. Then sheepishly giggled as she returned to her own medical bay across from him.

Batgirl, Lagoon Boy, and Blue Beetle also lay in or sat on beds. None of them were in great shape, but not the worst. Heavy bruising, dislocations, contusions, cuts and minor concussions were the worst of what they had to deal with.

The league was handling PR as far as the demolished laboratory. Gas explosion, he was pretty sure was the story the media was going with.

Cassie was right, it could have been a lot worse. But still… a growl of frustration built up in his throat.

"Gruh! But we still don't even know what they were after." Robin gripped his hair. They had survived only to have failed. They didn't know what was going on, they didn't know why the thefts had happened, they didn't even know what the rocks had to do with anyth-.

"Actually…" Barbra's voice was dripping with smug satisfaction as she pulled something out from her utility belt and held it up between her thumb and forfinger.

A small, rough, light red rock about the size of a golf ball.

* * *

 **WATCHTOWER: July 11th, 14:32 EST**

"I managed to grab it from one of the Parademons that chased us." Kaldur's dark hands explored the mineral as he listened to Batgirl. He didn't recognize the material, that disturbed him, though not as much as the enemies that Gamma described.

Kaldur stood at the head of a horseshoe table, while Gamma, still exhausted from their mission, sat around each other.

The meeting hall of the Watchtower was silent. Most Leaguers were off on other missions, and so all was quiet save for the hum of the stations engines. Despite everything, the noise put Aqualad on edge, reminding him too much of his time with his father on the submarine.

"It's definitely not from Earth ese, Scarab's been going on and on about how 'not compatible' it is, so we think that it might be from Apokolips." Kaldur didn't say anything in response to Jamie as he set the odd stone back into its metal container.

"This material, along with these new adversaries, are concrete proof of what we have feared." He looked away from the squad and out the window into the forest gardens of the Watchtower.

He couldn't see it from here, but he knew that past the tall trees the memorial garden lay hidden and safe. Safe in remembrance to those lost souls who had sacrificed everything in order to protect the world.

A love lost, and a best friend taken. And that was just for him, the people that had been lost...they had touched countless lives. He turned back to the team.

"Vandal Savage still remains priority. But we can not ignore this new threat. Nor can we ignore the very real probability of an alliance between these enemies." Kaldur sighed, it was like deja-vu, in a bad way. But he would not let it discourage him. He would continue, he would keep going.

"Remain alert and aware of everything. We may not know much, but we will learn all we can." He picked up the metal box that contained their only clue to what Savage and now the Apokoliptans were after.

"Today, was just the beginning of a whole new war."

* * *

 **APOKOLIPS: July 11, 14:35 UTC**

Dessad was in his laboratory. Working on a few projects as he often did with his time. He poured a glowing blue liquid from a glass tube onto a small fury faceless creature. The pathetic beast screeched pitifully as the liquid burned through fur and flesh. A satisfied smile formed on Dessad's face. The formula was much closer than the last batch.

The large doors behind him slid open at the command of Kalibak. Dessad couldn't help the annoyed scowl as he turned to the brute, but seeing the case in the ape's large hands his smile returned in even greater earnest.

"Ah, ssso the great warrior returns triumphant I sssee." Dessad's misshapen hands ran over the case in reverence. He pushed aside his earlier project and placed the metal carrier onto his work table. He opened it slowly. A dozen or so small red rocks lay on the black surface of the case's interior.

"It was too easy, no challenge at all for a warrior as powerful as myself." Kalibak sounded more disappointed than proud. That was one thing he would never understand about warriors. As though, if the battle wasn't hard, then it wasn't worth it. Kalibak had returned with the prize, who cared how challenging it was. All the better it be easy and fast than hard and waste valuable time.

"Of coursssse my lord. But," Dessad pulled out one of the stones and turned it in his spindly hand. "I will need much more… If I am to accomplish the Masssster'sss wishes."

Kalibak looked unhappy, _he always looked unhappy_ _, Dessaad thought to himself,_ but he nodded in acceptance.

"Very well, Dessad, you need more, I will get more." He turned to leave when another voice called both of their attentions.

"Now, now, sweet Kalibak, you need not do everything yourself." A large figure stepped in from the lit hallway. The voice was sympathetic, condescending and complimentary all at once.

Long white hair and a strong angular jaw. The figure was a woman, that much was clear from the anatomy, though the voice sounded far to strong and deep for one of the fairer sex. She was taller than Dessad, but shorter than Kalibak. Her large boots made almost no sound as she stepped up to the two males. She met the eyes of both of them. Standing tall and proud, with her hands clasped behind her back.

"After all." She smiled, obviously pleased with whatever was on her mind.

"Granny's little ones deserve to have some fun as well."

* * *

ok so after some edits, i am reposting chapter 1. i hope this won't become a pattern to go back over what i already wrote but what can you do.

anyway i sent out a call for beta readers and got a great response.

those who helped me out were

Batmam,

Lowkeytimdrake

REDROBIN707

Night of the Cheshire


	2. Episode 2: Unearth

**The horizontal lines signify a change of angle or point of view within the same scene, a commercial break or a very small time skip.**

 **i hope you enjoy the new episode.**

 **-important, added scene at bottom of page, is important for later chapters and some explination for the actions of this chapter.**

* * *

 **Season 3: Episode 2: Unearth**

 **Mars: July 20, 07:30 UTC**

Superboy and Beast Boy flew over the Martian skyline on the Super-Cycle. He had to admit that Mars was pretty impressive. Of course he had only been to two other planets in his six years of existence. So Conner didn't have a lot of expertise on the subject of intergalactic architecture and culture.

Almost all of the buildings were carved into or built out of the red stone and bedrock of the planet's surface. Conner figured that this was why almost nothing he had seen was taller than four or five stories. Every now and then a tall and thin tower would spear up from the city scape below them. A patchwork of round carved egg shaped roofs, and hard edged buildings made of stacked bricks and stone. There were big sturdy buildings with large columns. Step pyramids that had stone stairs leading all the way to the top. It reminded him of Mayan temples and Greek coliseums mashed together.

There weren't really any roads. There were a few small paths going this way and that between the stone buildings and the uncarved stone mountains of the landscape. The Super-Cycle maneuvered through the skies alongside several dozen other vehicles of various shapes and colors that resembled the bioship. All trying to get to one place or another.

Traffic was above the buildings, while lower to the ground he could see small figures of Martians going about their lives. Most floating, but a few were walking.

Some in their true Martian forms, with their large arms and legs, exposed brains and teeth and webbed arms. While a good many seemed to had opted for the full human look. Dressed in clothes ranging from the fifties all the way to the nineties. Still others looked more like the Martian Manhunter or "bald M'gann," green and humanoid but still alien.

* * *

What Conner didn't see were three humanoid figures walking toward a red stone building. long hoods covered their faces. The trio opted to camouflage themselves. Only dropping into the visible spectrum when they entered the building.

One male and two females. As a team they phased through the buildings walls. The interior was sleek and metallic. Small round shelves lined the walls. Each filled to the brim with data disks.

Clearly the one calling the shots, the male gestured to the two females, who immediately started going through the compartments and pulling out various file disks.

The male pulled the large blaster off of his back and laid it across a long table desk. He plugged a small device into the computer and started tapping at the holoscreen.

* * *

Beast Boy scanned the area as best he could. Every so often he turned into a bird and swooped through the city below before pulling back up to the Super-Cycle and shifting back.

He glanced back at Superboy. The young teenager wasn't sure what he was hoping for, reassurance perhaps. But Garfield didn't receive it. Given the foul mood that the Kryptonian had been in for the past two weeks, that was unsurprising.

But it made Beast Boy feel even worse about this whole plan.

* * *

The two females had finished their jobs. The large bags at their sides were full of data disks. While the male of the group was working on the computer.

"Protex, we have the location files, lets get out of here!" One of the females implored to the male. Her white skin prominent underneath her cape. Her voice was fearful and exasperated. She fingered the large red weapon at her hip nervously.

Protex seemed to have no such qualms with time. "You worry too much love." He finished what he had been working on the computer, before he pulled a final drive from the disc in one of the walls. "Even new girl knows how to enjoy the ride." He winked at the second female.

She shuffled away shyly at the advances.

The first female crossed her arms angrily. "We don't have time for this Pro! They want the stuff by _tomorrow_ night. And you know _her_ lot don't like to be kept waiting."

This argument more than anything seemed to move the male, Protex into action. "Alright Primaid I hear you, no time for fun." He picked up his blaster from off the desk and promptly aimed at the doorway.

A blast of red energy hit the green Martian that had been entering the room square in the chest. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain.

Both females looked back at Protex. Primaid in anger and the "new girl" in shock and surprise.

With his weapon still smoking in his hands. Protex shrugged his shoulders with a satisfied smug grin. "Well, maybe a little fun?"

* * *

The explosion came just a few blocks away. But it wasn't close to enough to knock the Super-Cycle from her flight path. Balls of fire blasted up from the city-scape below them. The sound of plasma fire could be heard.

"Well, that sounds suspicious…" Garfield couldn't help but grin.

Superboy said nothing as he changed their direction. Straight toward the disturbance.

* * *

Ten or so green Martians, all in dark blue and black uniforms, helmets and bright green metal badges. Most of them were on the ground, passed out or too wounded to move. A dark blue bishop a little bigger than M'gann's was crashed half way into the red rock of the planet's surface.

Small fires blazed scattered around the block. A few of the surrounding stone buildings were damaged, on fire, or in danger of collapsing. But it was in front of a large round red structure, that looked like the small end of an egg with a string of stairs all around it that most of the damage seemed to be concentrated.

The remaining security forces, the half dozen or so that could still move, were crouched and hidden behind large pieces of red stone and rubble. Their blasters were at the ready and aimed on the round doors of the structure before them.

Suddenly the circular doors were blown open by another incendiary bomb. Three robed figures armed with Apokoliptian blasters appeared through the door. Firing blast after blast at the security forces blocking their escape.

"Protex! we should leave while we can! Let's go before more enforcers arrive!" a stray shot grazed Primaid by a hair.

Her partner, Protex, was not paying attention to the obvious need to flee the crime scene. Aiming the dark red blaster at the enforcers and letting loose a volley of sparking bolts of fire onto the soldiers' returning fire.

He looked down at one of the unconscious officers on the ground. A cruel smile could be seen from the shadows cast by his hood.

"In a minute Primaid." He pressed a switch on the large red cannon. The weapon hummed to life as he aimed at the downed officer. "Time to teach these moss faced parasites some real justice." His voice was full of anger, satisfaction, and an odd tone that spoke of a justice that could never really be regained.

But just as he pulled the trigger, a series of laser fire from above, knocked him and his aim off their balance. The ball of fire went flying into the air, harmless before it fizzled into nothing. Protex flew into his partner. Once they regained their balance both looked up and saw who had attacked them.

The Super-Cycle flew around the sky covering the retreat of the fallen officers. Superboy and Beast Boy in her seats. Waiting and watching, taking in the three attackers.

All three robbers were in humanoid form. Their ghost white skin made their nonhuman origins plain to see. The first female had long blue white hair hanging loose and tangled around her face, and the male had long blond hair slicked back and tidy, and the third was still hidden underneath her long dark hood.

Absently he thought their choice of skin color odd, considering what he had learned from M'gann. With only the lightest of telepathic contact a Martian knew if another was truly white or green, it was still considered common sense for white Martians to hide what they were in order to blend into the Martian crowds. While most green Martians would be disgusted by the very idea of pretending to be a white.

But the three Martians before them seemed to have no qualms with showing what they really were.

"Put down your weapons and surrender to the security enforcers!" Superboy demanded. He could hear the Martian officers regrouping behind him. They knew not to attack the earthling heroes but that didn't mean Conner trusted them beyond following their orders.

"We do not take orders from you, Earthers!" the female with the long white hair, Primaid turned her own large barreled blaster toward the flying Super-Cycle. The weapon hummed as it warmed in preparation to firing.

The New Genesphere barely had time to react as the blast missed her. She flew down close to the ground to avoid the shot.

"We will no longer be dogs to the green Martian hypocrisy." Protex lifted his large blaster, he aimed it at a pair of the fallen officers. They wouldn't be able to move in time.

The weapon fired. A wave of hot red fire was headed straight for the trapped green Martians.

At that second, Superboy landed from above. The impact leaving barely a crater in the ground. The fire hitting his body but causing little damage. When the fire finally stopped, there were little more than soot marks on Superboy's tanned skin. His shirt was charred and tattered, but that wasn't anything new.

Superboy half gestured to the officers to move back and out of range. The soldiers complied immediately. The fire ended suddenly. Superboy's skin was smoking and the back of his shirt was burned clear away. But he didn't hesitate. He ran straight at the Martians that had attacked them.

Protex and Primaid were clearly surprised by the sudden assault, doubled by the shock that anyone could have survived the fire blast.

The third White Martian was not phased at all. She raised her hands and sent two large pieces of debris straight toward the Krypton Ian attacker.

He smashed them to dust without slowing down. Jumping into the air he landed hard on top of the Martian female that had attacked him.

She fell to the ground. A booted foot on either side of her chest. Her hood falling back onto her shoulders. A lovely face, with freckles on her cheeks and framed in red hair, with skin like snow looked up at the Superboy in anger.

A white skinned M'gann looked up at Superboy in anger.

* * *

 **Theme song!**

M'gann yelled at Superboy in rage before she blasted him away with her telekinesis. He crashed into a nearby building. But managed to recover and jumped toward the leader Protex.

The other female, Primaid managed to gather her wits and her eyes glowed white as she prepared to send several pieces of debris at the Kryptonian's unprotected back. As he landed a solid punch to the male Martian's face.

Just then, a shadow passed above her. The Super-Cycle flew over the street again. Right above Primaid, beast boy jumped off. Mid fall he transformed into an elephant.

His speed and weight combined created a very impressive _SMASH!,_ right on top of Primaid. Beast boy transformed back to his semi-human form. As the dust settled he realized how perfect his aim had been since Primaid lay barely conscious at the bottom of a decent sized crater.

"Ha, ten out of ten, yes!" He was able to bask in the pride of a great move successfully pulled off for only a moment. As Superboy was flung past him via a telekinetic blast.

Protex' weapon had been smashed by Conner, but the Martian managed to get to his feet. He stood there for a moment taking in the options before him. One partner was down and the security enforcers were starting to recover from the plasma weapons. Outnumbered and outmatched by the off worlders, he came to a decision.

"M'orzz, let's fall back"

A large section of a nearby building collapsed under his telekinetic influence. The debris fell toward the security enforcers.

The Super-Cycle immediately fired on the falling debris. In an attempt to help the downed science police. This distraction gave the criminal Martians the opportunity to escape.

Protex flew to Primaid's side and pulled her arm over his shoulder. Primaid was weak but awake. He flew into the air with great speed. M'gann following close behind him. Both of them turning invisible as soon as they were in the air.

Before she vanished completely however, M'gann looked back at Superboy. They nodded to each other. An unspoken communication that had nothing to do with telepathy. Then she disappeared as well.

Conner looked back toward the fallen security forces regrouping. He could almost feel the buzz of telepathic communication in the air around them. The officers were reporting what was going on. Whether they were talking to their headquarters or to each other, he couldn't be sure.

"Lets get out of their way Gar." Garfield made a face, but followed without complaint. The boys made their way toward the Super-Cycle. As they boarded, another dark blue security enforcer bioship flew down from the sky.

The green Martian enforcers on the ground all seemed very relieved by the appearance of familiar reinforcements. Conner didn't share their sentiments. The fallen officers were getting to their feet and helping their comrades get their bearings. Several of them were glaring at Superboy and Beast Boy with distrusting looks.

Despite their orders, Superboy knew that the Martians didn't trust them either. As far as the soldiers were concerned the earthlings were alien outsiders and had no business meddling in Martian affairs.

The newly arrived bioship leveled out a few feet above the ground. The bay door melted open and about a dozen new green Martian security enforcers, all in their pristine dark blue robed uniforms floated out. A few with yellow armbands and silver cases floating at their sides attended to the injured.

As the last member emerged from the ship, Conner felt a feeling of fuming aggravation in the pit of his stomach.

He had broad shoulders and a dark red sash over his chest. His long midnight cape was immaculate. The gold chains, marking his station of commander, hung across his muscular neck.

Angry red eyes barely spared a look toward the earthling heroes. His eyes glowed for a moment before Conner could even try and offer an explanation.

An uncomfortable feeling slid through Conner's mind. Airy and fluffy like cotton and slimy like oil. The presence made it hard to think, for a few seconds anyway, before it floated away like an unwelcome shadow.

The commander's shoulders straightened importantly and his eyes dimmed after only a few seconds. He had very efficiently gone through Superboy's most recent memories. He turned back to his men. The satisfaction practically oozed off of him.

 _"Very good, you may return to our headquarters now_ earthlings. _And let my men handle the rest."_ The oily presence was in and out of their thoughts before Superboy or Beast Boy could do anything about it. Uncomfortable shudders went down both their spines at the intrusion.

Not that Commander Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz, cared about how the "earthlings" felt. Conner tightened his grip on the Super-Cycle's steering bars. He had enough self control to direct them up into the air.

"Urghr! That guy is such a jerk!" Garfield complained for what had to be the fifth time during this whole trip. "I can't believe he's Uncle J'onns twin! Or even sort of related to M'gann!" The teen crossed his arms and slumped in his seat.

The anger was obvious but the deep buried fear and worry could be seen hiding underneath the agrivation. As they flew over the Martian capital city under the slightly lesser light of the milky way sun, Conner could see it clearly.

Beast Boy was worried about M'gann, they both were.

 **Metropolis: July 20, 9:56 EDT**

Reporters and bystanders flocked the Lex Corps buildings. The chance was slim, but there was still a chance that they might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse at the man who was running for UN Secretary. The man who had saved the world from the Reach doomsday weapons.

Cat grant stood in front of the building with a camera man capturing her every move. Even over the clambering of the crowd, her words were clear and even as she broadcast the goings on.

"This is Cat Grant outside Lex Corps headquarters in Metropolis. Where the media is scrambling to gather information on Lex Luthor's controversial bid for UN Secretary. Very little information has been granted to the public, but lines of support are already being drawn."

* * *

High above the crowd. There was a building a few blocks away. Still plenty tall, with the perfect view of the large and extravagant office of Lex Luthor. A young woman sat with a high tech pair of binoculars. She watched Lex Luthor working at his desk. Occasionally the bald man would talk to someone on the phone or video conference, or he would address his ever present secretary Mercy.

But other than that, the mission was boring as heck.

"Ugh! This mission is boring." The other woman, complained. Her dark hair and skin stood out against the ugly gray wall of the unoccupied apartment building.

"How could you tell Karen, you've been on the laptop the whole time." Artemis pulled the binoculars away to glance at her friend. And sure enough Karen was at that moment sitting on the faded pastel couch, typing away on her computer.

"I'm doing research." Rather defensively. "Not that it helps the situation any, but Luthor is favored to win this thing." She pointed her computer to Artemis, a web page of a few line graphs showed one blue line making a stark uptake. While the others on the graph were stagnating or turning sharply downward. "With him 'single handedly stopping the Reach threat' and all, his popularity has gone through the roof."

Karen kept her voice quiet and calm. She still wasn't sure how to act around Artemis when it came to members of The Light. Given that their actions had directly led to Wally's death.

Artemis turned away when Karen finished speaking. Her grip on her binoculars tightening as she returned to watching Luthor. She didn't say anything else, but if her white knuckles were any indication. Karen knew that her friend was still hurting, and hurting bad. More and more lately Karen saw Artemis try and push the feelings of grief and heartbreak down until they couldn't hurt her anymore.

"So, how's your mom?"

Artemis seemed to relax at the change in topic. Her breathing evened out and her shoulders loosened.

"She's doing a lot better lately. Ever since Jade started letting her babysit Lian on a regular basis." She laughed in an annoyed affection. "She seems to think that Roy has been a good influence on his wife."

"Roy, being a good influence?" Karen mulled over the thought. Not finding it quite so unbelievable as Artemis made it out to be. "Well, when you care about someone enough." Karen started working on the laptop again.

Artemis was quiet. Having returned her attention to the window and her eyes to the binoculars.

Karen once again pretended that she didn't see the sadness that was being buried.

Outside, the loud roar of reporters continued on.

The heroes weren't the only ones watching the building. A small figure, buried in the crowds and his own baggy black clothes, was staring intently up at the top floor of the skyscraper.

His bright blue eyes were only just visible behind the shadow of his hood. They narrowed, in an angry vengeance. Before he turned around and disappeared into the shadows of an alleyway.

 **Z'onn Z'orr: July 20, 15:33 UTC**

The building was large, half carved from the dark red stone from the canyon surrounding it. Portions of the structure were smooth and polished even after so many years of disuse, while the lower sections were rough and jagged where the building still connected with the red stone of the mesa surrounding it.

A pair of white Martians stood sentry at the highest points of the building. Each had a large red weapon over their shoulders. Weighing them down as their eyes scanned the endless red desert surrounding them.

Inside the stone fortress were dozens of honeycombed tunnels. Large rooms full of weapons and provisions connected with smaller living spaces. Maybe three dozen white Martians occupied the stronghold at any given time. Mostly adults or teenagers but a child or two could be found running through the crisscrossed passageways.

M'gann placed the bag of stolen data discs onto a table while she listened to Protex and Primaid arguing. Primaid was sitting on a chair while a bandage was being wrapped around her stomach by another white Martian.

 _"Come on love, it wasn't that bad. We have the info and the troops are already hitting the dig sites. The Hyperclan will have what we need by noon tomorrow."_ Protex attitude was relaxed and confident. M'gann had to admit that the leader of the Hyperclan white Martian equality movement was nothing if not charismatic.

Primaid rolled her eyes at the leader. Obviously annoyed at how calm he was about the near disaster of a mission. But M'gann knew that Primaid knew, no matter how much she lectured him Protex wouldn't change his attitude.

M'gann cleared her throat. "If that's all, I'll return to quarters?" She kept her eyes low, the exaggerated uncertainty in her voice clear.

Protex turned to her with that confident grin. He floated to her side and draped his long white arm around her waist.

"What's the rush new girl, we should celebrate your first successful mission! Right Pri?" he pulled M'gann close as he turned back to Primaid. She was getting up from her seat and heading towards the door.

 _"Celebrate on your own time boss, I have more important things to do. Like make sure the Hyperclan survive."_ She stated before phasing through the ground.

"Oh well, just the two of us then?" Protex shrugged before he pulled M'gann closer. His forehead moving dangerously close to hers. He spoke out loud now, most likely so that Primaid wouldn't hear any telepathic feedback of what he said.

"I got to say, you handled yourself great out there today. Those earthlings that the science center called in didn't know what hit them." M'gann pulled away before Protex could do anything more.

"If its all the same Commander Protex?" M'gann portrayed the nervous insecurity of a new recruit. She spoke out loud to further sell the idea that she lacked confidence. "I'm feeling pretty tired after all the excitement. I think I'll just head back to quarters." She bowed in respect before quickly walking down the tunnel. She could feel Protex eyes leering after her. And the vaguest impression of his thoughts buzzed across the edges of her mind.

Once a she was a few tunnels away she allowed herself to shiver in disgust. She continued toward the living quarters of the stronghold. When a voice in her ear spoke.

"Sis! If that creepazoid made the moves on you one more time! I will not be responsible for my actions!" the rather angry voice of Garfield sounded over the comm. device in her ear.

"I have to keep in character Gar." Her voice was quiet despite the fact that no one was around in the long empty tunnel. "Protex thinks I'm an eager to please new recruit for his cause. I have to make sure that he and everyone else in the Hyperclan _keeps_ thinking that."

* * *

A few miles away from the Hyperclan headquarters. Superboy and Beast Boy sat in the Super-Cycle, both listening intently to the transmissions being relayed by M'gann's comm. device. A sound wave display showed the visual equivalent of any and all conversations that M'gann was able to pick up.

"Ya well, undercover or not! do you have to act _so_ helpless around the guy?" Garfield angrily slumped into his seat. Glaring at the wavelength display screen.

He glanced back at Conner. Who was staring off at the direction of Z'onn Z'orr. He looked even angrier than Garfield felt. But the green teenager had realized a day and a half ago that Conner felt he didn't have the right to be angry on M'gann's behalf.

Beast Boy thought back to the beginning of this mission. He remembered being really excited to see mars and maybe meet M'gann's family. But the past week and a half had been anything but fun.

 **Mars Science Police Headquarters: July 6, 07:30 UTC**

Commander Malfaek J'onzz and B'arzz ohm stood in front of a holoscreen. The commander was doing most of the talking. M'gann looked rather uncomfortable whenever her other Uncle's eyes landed on her. Not that Garfield could blame her. The commander didn't look happy about any of them being there. But he looked especially annoyed whenever he had to interact with M'gann.

 _"In these past few months, a white Martian radical group calling themselves The Hyperclan has been attacking and pillaging historical and archeologically significant sites."_ A few pictures of destroyed red buildings and ruins were shown. _"They are led by the white Martian Protex and his subordinates."_

A pretty decent picture of Protex, Primaid and a few other white Martians were displayed.

 _"Normally such a small and inexperienced group of terrorists would not even merit the intervention of the science police. Such a savage group would collapse and destroy itself before we even had to interfere at all."_ His voice became rather smug and his eyes landed on M'gann. Who flinched slightly but managed not to show any other reaction to the obvious insult.

Then the commander's voice became noticeably annoyed.

 _"However, in the past few months Protex has led dozens of ruthless attacks and thefts at these sites and various other locations. Each getting more and more violent. Mostly because of these."_ Then the images of several Apokoliptian weapons popped up onto the screens. Some Beast Boy recognized, a few were unfamiliar to him.

B'arzz ohm finally managed to take the floor. but unlike the commander, B'arzz spoke aloud. Which earned him a haughty and superior look from the officer.

"I found out about the attacks when I returned to mars two weeks ago. Upon learning more about the Hyperclan and examining the weapons that have been recovered. I recognized them, from my time with The Reach, as Apokoliptian in origin."

"So you want our help to stop the Hyperclan?" Garfield was glad that M'gann had asked the question. That sounded like a really big job, and his sister sounded much more confident about it than he would have.

"These weapons have given the group deadly power. But we also think that the group is receiving training and supplies along with the weapons from off worlders. However, the council has elected not to take any _direct_ action against the Hyperclan, at this time." B'arzz turned to look at Commander J'onzz with an annoyed look on his face.

While the Commander looked rather smug and superior when he turned to M'gann. Like he was talking to a stupid animal.

 _"Simply put. The science police are more than capable of handling the Hyperclan ourselves. But given the political issues surrounding the group, and the incredible power of these off-world weapons…"_ He let the sentence linger, like he was waiting for her to figure out the obvious solution. _It sure wasn't obvious to Garfield._ And the switching between telepathic and out loud was giving him a headache. But the commander seemed to prefer mental communication whenever he didn't like where the conversation was going.

 _"And of course given your… umh… Status, dear niece. These weapons would be beneficial in the effort of planetary security."_ M'gann looked like she was shrinking with every step her uncle took toward her as he spoke. Garfield decided then and there that he didn't like M'gann's other uncle.

"You want us to find the source of the Apokoliptian weapons so _you_ can use them." Superboy spoke for the first time. And as soon as Malefak's attention was off M'gann she relaxed. She also managed to pull herself together enough to add more of an explanation to the reason they were there.

"You want me to go undercover in the Hyperclan. And find the source of the weapons." Garfield noticed that B'arzz O'oomm looked far more sympathetic, even a little uncomfortable. Clearly this course of action had not been what he had had in mind when he had requested their help.

"Of course M'gann is more than free to refuse-"

"Its very simple, _niece_." The commander continued like B'arzz hadn't even spoken. "A green Martian among their ranks would be picked out in an instant, but a white Martian with ties to the government, who can be trusted to get the information we need in order to snuff out this threat to our society, would be doing a great service to her planet" he let the sentence hang a moment before continuing. Like he just realized it would be a good selling point. "And of course a great service to her race."

* * *

That had been almost two weeks ago.

"the deal is going down tomorrow." Superboy had been grumpier than usual ever since M'gann went undercover. "We should pull you out as soon as we can."

"No, we still don't know where the deal is happening or with who, or even what it is that the Hyperclan is trading for the next shipment of weapons." M'gann whispered under her breath as she entered the living quarters.

"M'gann, We've already pushed our luck with the short range radio!"

"And there have been no problems with interception. I told you before. No one on mars uses short range communications."

"I don't trust these guys. We don't know how far some of these guys are willing to go for their 'liberty' its only a matter of time before these nuts-. "

"They're not crazy for wanting to be treated better!" having stood up without thinking in her frustration. M'gann covered her mouth, and carefully looked around the room. Fortunately, she was still alone.

Superboy was silent for a moment. His anger fizzling in the realization that M'gann could really relate to these people. It was why she had come to earth in the first place. So that she wouldn't be treated like a second class citizen anymore. So she could have a new life without the hovering stigmatism that surrounded her race on mars. He took a calming breath.

"You're right they aren't crazy for wanting that." Superboy's strong voice came over the comm. device as a few other Martians came into the room. A small female white Martian was dancing around the legs of an elder male. M'gann smiled. All of them showed their natural white skin. Displayed proudly, without fear of retribution.

"But the fact that they are resorting to such extreme measures, violence and theft? Even dealing with Apokoliptian weapons makes them dangerous."

M'gann sighed. And tapped the earpiece twice. The signal that she was no longer alone.

The recording kept going. Superboy ran his hands down his face. He couldn't remember the last time a mission had grated on his nerves like this.

He couldn't do anything. That was the problem. He was stuck on emergency backup and handler duty until something bad happened. And the whole point of M'gann going under cover like this was in the hopes that nothing bad would happen.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was really worried about her.

And even harder to admit, he really missed her. Even after they had broken up, M'gann had always been around. Near him. They could still talk, sort of. He could still feel her presence around him.

But two weeks of hearing her voice, hearing her talk and get friendly with all these other white Martians while all he could do was sit by and listen and wait!

It was torture.

* * *

M'gann was feeling a very similar loneliness. She lay on her bed, an organic pod similar to the material of a bioship but without the self-awareness. She stared at the ceiling wishing time would go faster so that it could be tomorrow night and this mission would be over and she could go back to earth.

But time didn't go any faster. And all she could do was wait. It wasn't like this was her first undercover mission. With her shape shifting powers she had always been the optimal choice for infiltration. But this felt different, she was still herself. But a different person.

She looked around the living quarters. Filling up with members as the hours drew later. At least two dozen white Martians hiding and working together trying to find a place in the world. It made her sad. They were desperate to escape the discrimination of Mars, just as M'gann had been. But none of them had been able to escape to earth. So they banded together in order to belong somewhere, anywhere.

 _"Yo, new girl!"_ Protex's voice resonated loudly in her head.

M'gann shot out of bed. "yes! Um I mean" she stumbled as she switched to telepathic contact. _"Yes, Commander?"_

 _"Get up to the ship bay now, you're with me on transport detail!"_

 _"Right, I'm on my way now!"_ M'gann nodded, knowing that the action would be vaguely felt over the link. She started moving.

"Heading to the bioship bay now," she said this out loud, cheerfully just incase anyone was paying attention. Which was unlikely since Martians as a species had only really embraced using verbal communication in the past decade or so. Most Martians simply ignored any spoken words.

* * *

But Superboy and Garfield heard her just fine. Nodded to each other in preparation to follow M'gann wherever Protex was taking her.

 **Metropolis:** **July 20, 19:06 EDT**

The media frenzy had finally died down with the late hours. The area was dark and mostly deserted. A few determined photographers and journalists wandered about, hoping to catch something that the competition would miss out on.

Artemis and Karen had stood watch over the Luthor Corp building. It was only a matter of time before Lex left his office to return to his deluxe suite downtown.

There was a knock on the door. Artemis' compact crossbow was aimed the entrance before the third knock. The voice of Mal spoke from the other side.

"We got dinner, and a shift change!" His voice slightly muffled from the barrier.

Karen let them in. Mal had a tray of coffee cups in one hand and a paper bag of take out in the other.

"And I have enough junk food to last us till Christmas!" Bart was carrying at least six large bags of groceries.

Artemis stowed her bow again and returned to her spot near the window.

"Or, given how _you_ eat, last for about an hour."

"Hey I have a metabolism!" Bart put the bags on the island in the small kitchen. "Hey Artemis, you hungry?"

Artemis didn't answer, just kept looking out the window. Her eyes on an out of use building a block down the street from the Luthor Corps building. Was that the flick of a cape behind that tree?

"Artemis?" Bart asked again.

"Huh, oh ya I'm fine. I think I saw something." She pulled her black jacket over her shoulders and her mini compound bow to her side. "I'm gonna check it out. Stretch my legs while I'm at it."

"I'll go with you." Mal offered.

"Alright. Karen, Bart. Keep one eye on us, and the other on Luthor. He so much as sneezes funny, let us know."

"We'll keep watch from here, anything hits the rails and we'll come running." Karen took a bite of her lettuce wrap and activated the cameras trained on the Luthor building.

 **Tharsis: July 20, 19:18 UTC**

A few Martians wandered about the abandoned ruins and the surrounding area. A lonely pile of carved stones stacked on top of a rock mesa, surrounded by red sand dunes that looked gray and white under Mars' moons; Phobos and Demos.

All the Martian diggers were armed with Apokoliptian weapons of various sizes. Those on guard duty had large blasters or body armor weapons. While the workers set to do the actual digging had small hand weapons.

Drilling machines manned by a single Martian slowly dug through the layers of red stone. Gridded off sections of area were being searched by pairs of Martians. They used telekinesis to move pebbles and stones, and levitating brushes to wipe away any remaining dust. Then by hand, various pots, statues, and broken bits of who knew what was placed on long tables were a few other Martians were carefully examining each find.

Protex led M'gann out of his personal bioship. The ship was dark violet in color with sharp curved edges and several mounted blasters.

The leader of the Hyperclan stood strong and proud above the dozen or so soldiers that were searching the area. Looking anxious and excited all at once.

M'gann didn't say anything. She was nervous. Not for the first time she wanted this entire trip to be over with as soon as possible.

She knew enough about the operation by now to know that whatever the Hyperclan was looking for, they had to find it by tonight or else they wouldn't be able to finish their deal with the weapons traders.

"What are they looking for?" Beast Boy whispered over her comm. link. M'gann managed not to flinch at the sudden voice in her ear. She could hear Conner yelling at Garfield over the comm., telling him to be quiet. No doubt the two were observing from one of the nearby mountain peaks. Out of telepathic range.

Fortunately Protex didn't notice anything as he took that moment to address M'gann.

 _"Martian culture goes back millions of years."_ He flew up to view the site from the sky. M'gann followed. _"Z'onn Z'orr was originally a religious stronghold during the forth great Civil War. Now it serves as our base of operations. While ruins and tombs such as this…"_ he gestured toward the dig below him _"Will help us finance our cause until we can destroy the green Martians and finally have the liberty that we deserve."_

This ruffled something in M'gann's gut the wrong way. "But that's not equality, that's just conquering your enemies. And the council will eventually do something about the desecration of all these historical sites." She spoke aloud. Hoping to get whatever was said on the comm. recording.

Protex chuckled, like he was talking to a child that just didn't know any better. "These sights were abandoned long before our lifetimes history was being written. The Council itself would no doubt commend our defilement of the past. As I am sure you know, they do so hate to be reminded that anything came before them."

"And unless we crush the past, full of its mindless hate and bigotry, how can we? As the white Martians move forward, how will the greens be able to atone for all the wrongs they have committed against us unless we force them to." He smiled at her and pulled her close to his side, and this time she didn't have to pretend to blush. Protex arm around her waist as they floated there, above the dig site. "We are doing what we have to, in order to move foreword. The past must be slaughtered."

M'gann had to think about this for a moment. He had a point. As he often did when he spoke about the Council or politics in general. There was always that grain of truth that made all his teachings sound like gospel.

Fortunately, there was a commotion from below. M'gann tensed and pulled away from Protex. who fortunately was too busy to notice.

"They found something!" He flew down toward the dig site. M'gann followed close behind him.

A pair of Martian diggers were excitedly lifting a large statue from underneath a fallen pillar. Its shiny yellowish surface glowed as it was lifted into the air by telekinesis then gently lowered to the floor.

Life-sized, the statue was a Martian in an important looking pose, several misshaped forms lined the statues feet. A war relic of some sort, but due to the color of the medium, M'gann couldn't tell whose side the statue was supposed to be on.

Several other white Martians flanked the statue. Like they thought it would vanish if they didn't stay with it.

 _"Our cause may face adversity, but the Hyperclan will have our liberty."_ he waved a small device across the statue. It beeped excitedly. _"Exactly the what our our dealers have been asking for."_

 _"This will provide us more than enough to replace the weapons we have lost."_ He turned to M'gann and took her arm in his. "Come, we must prepare for our patrons' arrivals." He led M'gann toward the bioship. Several workers close behind them using telekinesis to lift the large statue to the ship.

Hidden behind a sand dune a few miles away Superboy was watched the procession as they left the dig site. He ground his teeth as he looked through the binoculars. Despite the impressive find and the weapons deal that was sure to happen in the near future, the only thought in his head was that Protex was getting awfully handsy with M'gann. He didn't like it at all.

"They're gonna trade that statue for more weapons." He glanced at the display on Sphere's gauges. "In just a few hours."

"So we pull her out now and let the science police handle the arrest?" Beast Boy clapped his furry hands together and looked at Superboy in an amusingly desperate plea. "Please! Please! Plllleeeasssee! Say that's what we're doing!"

"I wish kid, right now… its her call." As much as he wanted to agree with Garfield's course of action, it wasn't either of their decision. M'gann was squad leader.

He looked through his binoculars again. The large purple bioship as well as two other gray ships had been loaded up. All the Martians and all of their excavation gear had been loaded away. The three ships took to the skies and flew in the direction of Z'onn Z'orr.

"And right now I don't think she has any intention of pulling out."

 **Metropolis:** **July 20, 20:26 EDT**

Mal and Artemis had walked up and down the street about five times before Malcom gathered enough courage to start a conversation. Artemis was scanning the area around Luthor Corps with her marksman eyes. Hoping that it was nothing and that she was just seeing things.

"So uh, how's your mom?" Mal asked as they walked down the street.

Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. Realization hitting her hard.

"She's fine. And You and Karen can stop trying to avoid what you really want to ask me." Despite her confident words, Artemis caught herself pulling her jacket tighter around her body.

Mal had the decency to look a little abashed. But quickly regained his composure.

"How are you doing?" he asked in a serious tone. "Besides briefings and missions, we haven't heard much from you since, since the funeral."

The sharp pang of loss and pain shot through her chest. But she shoved it aside. Ignoring the laughing green eyes that flashed through her mind. She took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm doing better. I think. Me and Nelson are back at the house. He was staying with the West's for a bit, while I was staying with my mom." Artemis touched one of the large oak tree's lining the street adjacent to Luthor corps. The same tree that she thought she had seen someone behind. "But I think he got spoiled while he was there, he won't touch his regular dog food unless I put gravy on it."

Mal laughed as he looked up at the building. He had a nice laugh, strong and relaxed.

"Ya, your dog is a bit too much like his daddy." Mal left it at that.

Artemis appreciated the lack of candor. The last few days, when she and Karen were on shift together, Karen would do her best to not even mention something that might remind her of Wally.

And as much as she accepted and welcomed Bart, he was still a bit nervous around her too. Of course Artemis would be the first to say that she was glad that this stakeout mission had been a 'civies' mission. It was easier seeing Bart in jeans and a tennis shoes than in the red and yellow.

Mal seemed more relaxed. He wasn't thoughtless, but he didn't act like Artemis would burst into tears at the very mention of Wally's existence. He had trust in her strength.

 _Misplaced trust maybe, but still._

She would have said something to him, but that's when an explosion five stories up shattered a window and rained glass onto the street. And someone in a cape and black costume fell along with the glass. Black gauntlets grabbed a branch from the tree that Artemis had been looking at. Then he flipped over the branch and landed in a crouch before running down the nearby alleyway.

"Hey!" Artemis was off like a shot. Mal followed close behind her.

The alley was thin, and surprisingly clean. Being bordered by the main offices of a multinational corporation would do that. The runner ducked this way and that, jumping and leaping over the garbage cans and industrial bins.

Small, that was the first thing Artemis noticed about him. Very small, like barely reaching her stomach small. But it was the hood, tattered cape, and white mask that were a cinch he wasn't your average thief.

Artemis tackled him, but he grabbed her wrist and came to a dead stop as he flipped her over his shoulder. Her own momentum sent her flying into the ground.

Her head was pounded, but she managed to pull herself together to get a good look at the mask. A stylized white skull with a big Red X across the left side of the forehead.

"Stay out of my way! Luthor is going to pay!" the voice modulator on his was crazy heavy. Deep and gravely, very mechanical and impossible to discern what his voice really sounded like.

Mal took a few swings at the guy, but all he managed to hit was air. Before the masked guy jumped up onto Malcom's shoulders, flipped up into the air and tossed a red disk at the ground. Almost immediately, a green gas released from the X shaped shurikin. The alleyway filled up in less than a second.

Artemis felt her throat tighten, and she saw Mal coughing while leaning against a trashcan. She pulled her sweatshirt up over her mouth and nose as she ran out of the backstreet.

But in her haste, she didn't keep track of her surroundings. The black armored boots came at her so fast she didn't have time to defend. There was a moment of pain and shock, then black.

"mis...! temis… ca.. you… ere me! Artemis!" Under the glare of yellow street light, the fuzzy outline of reddish hair on top of a yellow body suit slowly appeared above her.

She came to at the sound of her name. She groaned as the throbbing in her head made itself known with a vengeance.

"A little louder why don't you babe. I don't think they heard you up in Jersey." She grabbed her head in one hand and steadied her self against the cold ground with the other. The fuzzy lines of her vision were sharpening as she managed to sit up straight.

Bart froze next to her. It took Artemis a few seconds to realize what she had said in her near concussive state.

"Uhm, sorry Bart, I uh just…" She didn't know what to say. Fortunately, she was saved from further humiliation as Bumblebee and Mal came out of the alleyway.

"Man, what hit us?" Mal leaned an arm over Karen's shoulder.

"Knock out gas, specialty grade. Black ops. quality if I had to guess." Artemis got to her feet. Quietly refusing the hand offered by Bart.

"Ok that answers the what. Now how about an answer for who hit you guys. You were down for the count and they just took off!" Karen looked up at the towers of glass and steel that surrounded them. the broken window two blocks away from Luthor Corps building was clearly visible. "If Luthor Corps was the target, why attack a vacant office building?"

Artemis looked down into the ally. There on the ground stuck tight into the asphalt. A Red X shaped shurikin. The knockout gas device. Artemis pulled it out of the ground with a swift tug.

"Good questions." She turned the small device over in her hands. High tech? for sure. A bit garish? definitely. Dangerous? absolutely.

"I wish I had some answers."

 **Z'onn Z'orr: July 20, 23:50 UTC**

The fortress of Z'onn Z'orr could be seen less than a mile in the distance. The weapons deal was to take place in a small canyon close by. The Earth heroes were hidden behind an outcrop of rocks, out of telepathic range of the Martians.

Waiting had never been one of Garfield's strong points. Not that he couldn't do it. It was just that sitting in the sand on a freezing cold night with nothing but a broody and jealous Superboy and a semi-sentient Super-Cycle?

Well it got dull really fast.

It was dark now, with the two moons in the sky. Conner had even pointed out earth to him. Even if I didn't look any more impressive than a greenish twinkle.

Garfield had turned into a snowy owl. His large yellow eyes could see the white Martians just standing around the large yellow statue that they had dug up. But judging by their body language, they just looked really nervous.

Superboy was no help with the boredom either. He answered in monosyllables even more incomprehensible than usual. His bright blue eyes flicked back and forth between M'gann, who was sitting on a rock next to Primaid, or he was glaring daggers at Protex.

Protex was pacing back and forth. Well, levitating back and forth as they waited for the suppliers. M'gann stayed out of notice as best she could. Primaid was polishing her hand weapon, also Apokoliptian in origin by the looks of it.

A third Martian, a large muscled male M'gann had said went by the name of Zenturian, kept to his true Martian form and almost never spoke, telepathically or aloud. He stood in front of a small group of six or so white Martians, ready to receive and transport the weapons to their headquarters via the nearby access tunnels.

M'gann nervously rubbed her hands together. An old habit she had fallen back into recently. Ever since she had hurt Kaldur.

"Shouldn't they be here by now. And who are these people anyway?"

Protex stopped floating, quickly replaced his nervous pacing with his cool and confident aura before turning to her with that smile that made M'gann's skin crawl.

"Worry not love! Our patrons come on their own time. In my experience, we have found it most effective to not ask them too many questions."

M'gann didn't like this, she really didn't. She still knew almost nothing about the weapons dealers that the white Martians were working with. It was all very secret even among the ranking members of the Hyperclan. She didn't even know what the statues and relics that the mysterious benefactors were so interested in were made of.

She admitted to herself right there that she was tempted to _get_ the information from one of the rebels, even Protex himself.

Her currently white skin crawled at the thought, and her stomach twisted horribly. It was really amazing how much she had changed in such a short time. A few months ago she wouldn't have hesitated to take the information they needed and move on, like nothing had happened. But now, just the idea made her queasy.

Her head barely turned in the direction of Superboy and Beast Boy's hiding place. she stopped herself just in time and yawned to cover her motion. She thought maybe she should ask a few more questions before the trade went down. Maybe she could get more insight into what she was about to step into.

But before she could do anything else. A boom tube opened.

Four figures stepped through. Every member of the Hyperclan suddenly stood at attention. There was fear in the air. Even Protex, who was doing a better job of hiding it than his comrades, straightened his shoulders.

All three were female. One was a large but sculpted older woman with a powerful jaw and snow white hair. The other two were younger. Each looked to be somewhere in their early twenties.

The tallest was a mountain of muscle mass. A visored helmet covered her eyes and her head, but allowed a long dark ponytail of hair to fall down her back. Her yellow and red armored suit was lined in a metal that looked like gold.

Finally, the smallest figure. A wild mane of green hair fell from a narrow and sharp face. Gleaming silver armor covered her upper body. Green fur boots and a long slit skirt framed her lithe legs. Her gauntlets were clawed razor sharp, but even they looked dull when compared to her manic grin and wild eyes. Her fanged smile could give Joker a run for his money.

Behind the rock formation a hundred yards away or so, sphere started revving furiously. Buzzing and beeping in a mad frenzy of fear.

"Shhh! Girl, quiet." Conner ran his hands across her silver shell. But it took several moments before she calmed, and it was only just enough to keep their position. But Conner got the message loud and clear.

"M'gann sphere just went postal, those people are from Apocalypse." It was strange. The only Apokoliptian they had on record was Desaad. The league and the team had encountered plenty of their technology, but this was one of the first times that the residence of Apocalypse had appeared.

The old woman took charge of the meeting.

"Ah my dear Protex." Her voice was strange, too deep to be feminine, but there was a resonance in the tone that was distinctly that of a woman. "I do hope you have a little present for Granny Goodness…" the unspoken threat of 'or else' hung heavy in the air.

"Uhm, oh yes of course!" It took Protex a minute to collect himself. But he cleared his throat and presented the large statue and the packed crates to his guests. "I do hope it is satisfactory."

It struck M'gann as strange. Protex always put on a show of being calm and confident. But in the presence of these off worlders, all pretenses of his charismatic superiority were dropped.

The woman, Granny, snapped her fingers and the two other woman moved forward. The large one had a square device in her hand, which buzzed like a radiation detector. While the small savage one crouched and crawled her way over and around the boxes, sniffing them thoroughly.

Superboy continued to stroke the silver surface of sphere's shell. She still beeped and buzzed quietly in dismay and fear. Superboy and Garfield remained silent as well. Their battle raised instincts telling them both that these three were deadly.

After what seemed like an eternity, the gauge device the tall one was holding chirped as its readings completed.

The large woman nodded to Granny. While the small one continued to sniff around the area. The old woman smiled, looking very pleased as she stepped up to the large statue.

"A very impressive find my dear Protex." She ran her hands across the statues surface. Then rubbed her fingers together, the dust on her hands sprinkling to the red sand at their feet.

"As we agreed." Granny turned back to the boom tube as pairs of Parademons pushing several large hover crates full of Apokoliptian weapons stepped through the portal. "Payment in full."

Protex, Primaid, and Zenturian, examined the weapons with barely contained eagerness. M'gann stepped forward to look closer as well. She recognized a few of the models that had been confiscated from Intergang. But there were many more designs that she had never seen before.

"Take these to the vaults." Protex ordered his men. He spoke absently, too interested in keeping the visitors happy to even turn toward his men.

The handful of soldiers that had accompanied them to the trade, stepped forward and started telekinetically pushing the floating crates, at least twenty of containers, into the tunnels behind them.

"Ok, now they have the weapons and we have eyes on the dealers." Conner's annoyed voice came whispered over the link. "We can go back to the city and let the council and the science police handle these guys."

She couldn't answer, they were too close. But she wouldn't be pulled just yet. She needed to take those weapons out of commission before we leave. It wouldn't take long. Once these guys are gone, she just had to sneak down to the weapons vaults and-

Her thoughts broke in a screeching stop when she realized something was wrong around her.

The woman with green hair and wide grin was sniffing at the air. M'gann only just now realized that she hadn't stopped sniffing since she came through the door. Now the woman was facing straight toward the outcrop where Superboy and Garfield were hiding.

She was crouched down like an animal still sniffing the air and the ground around her. Granny stepped close to her and pet the woman's wild green hair with her large wrinkled hands. The woman leaned into the touch, like a dog keening for its master.

"Mad Harriet my sweet, what _have_ you sniffed out?" Granny's voice was full of indulgent mirth, but her eyes were scanning the horizon line like a hawk. Taking in every rock and sand dune with absolute scrutiny.

Harriet pressed her face against Granny's hand one last time before her mad grin grew even larger.

"Betrayal." Her voice was snarly and rough. But the emotion behind it was jagged and eager. Bloodthirsty.

Before M'gann could even think to react Harriet twisted around and lunged at her! Her long metal claws ripped across her arm.

And she fell to the ground clutching her wound. Her mind went blank to all but the pain. Her mental shields fell, to fast for her to restore before a thousand thoughts ran through her mind. The failure of the mission, the safety of Superboy and Garfield, the fear at being discovered as a traitor to Protex' cause.

These and a thousand other little thoughts surfaced in her mind, and the three Martians present were able to see and feel her feelings and fears as easily as one would watch a big screen TV.

"Why you little!" Primaid aimed her blaster at M'gann and started firing. One hit her hip, but it was only a graze. M'gann managed to pull herself together and duck behind a sand dune.

"That's it!" reasoning that their cover was blown, Superboy was not going to let these guys hurt M'gann. With an angry yell, he jumped from their hiding place and landed in the sand in between miss Martian and the Apokoliptian.

The dust cloud that followed distracted the members of the Hyperclan, but the Apokoliptian seemed to have no such problems.

Out from the dust the large one in gold and crimson screamed out a furious roar and rammed Superboy straight on. The two tumbled into the canyon wall.

Laser fire came from above. Garfield jumped out from the Super-Cycle, and transformed into a gorilla halfway down. He smashed his fists into Harriet, but she rolled out of the hit. Dazed but shaking it off quickly she ran forward, claws extended. She sliced at Beast Boy who turned into a bird and flew backwards. He then turned into a lion and charged at her.

M'gann managed to sit up. the cuts were bad, but she had had worse. And she had more important things to do than worry about a flesh wound.

Protex, Primaid and Zenturian had surrounded her. Their eyes glowing in rage, yellow, white and blue. She had betrayed them, in front of their benefactors no less. The only people that seemed to support their bid for liberty and equality.

M'gann knew that she wouldn't be shown mercy.

Conner grabbed a large rock and slammed it against the woman. But she raised her forearm at the last second and the rock shattered into dust and rubble.

"Ha, the Kryptonian mutt wants to do battle?" she clasped her fists together and brought them down. Conner's chest took most of the catastrophic impact. He hit the ground rolling.

The wind knocked out of him. His breath control lost. Superboy managed to look up just in time to see a massive boot heading right toward his head.

Barely he just managed to roll to the left. The armored foot drove straight into the rocky stone that made up the caverns. A crater at least ten feet wide surrounded her. The epicenter, right where Conner's head would have been.

A shock of fear ran up his spine. A fear he almost never felt, would he have survived? He didn't want to test it. Because even with his Kryptonian DNA, he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

The Apokoliptian grinned in satisfaction. Superboy realized that his moment of uncertainty had been noticed. Like she could smell his fear.

"The name's Stompa, I'll give you three guesses why." She brought her foot down onto a boulder of bedrock stone. It shattered like plaster, a grin on her face.

Conner shook his head to clear away his doubts. He had to focus. He had to fight. He had to survive.

Beast Boy was thinking along much the same lines. Currently a grizzly bear he slashed and bit at Mad Harriet to no avail. She was faster than him. And her claws her wicked sharp. It was all he could do not to get diced into dog food.

He shifted into a tiger in hopes of evening the odds. But the only thing it seemed to do was make Harriet fight even more savagely. She crouched on all fours and slashed and tackled him to the ground.

As a snake he slithered between a mound of rocks. An elephant appeared on the other side. Smashing his front legs down hard against the ground. Harriet dodged it but didn't manage to evade the flailing trunk that smashed into her side in the exact same moment.

M'gann could feel three separate minds attacking her at once. They hadn't slipped into mindscape yet, but as a unit the three rebels were attempting to drag her down into it.

 ** _Traitor!traitor!traitor!why!traitor!howcouldyou!traitor!traitor!whitemartian!traitor!traitor!traitor!why!traitor!traitor!traitor!howcouldyou!traitor!traitor!youarethesameasus!traitor!traitor!traitor!betrayal!traitor!traitor!traitor!why!why!traitor!traitor!traitor!whitemartian!traitor!why!traitor!_**

Her eyes glowed white hot as her body snapped straight.

A blast of energy shot out like a wave. Knocking the white Martians into the sand. Protex managed to stay airborne. Sending his own blast of energy at M'gann. She managed to stay standing but she was pushed back.

 _"how could you! Your one of us and you betray us! For the greens? For those earthlings?"_ he sent a wave of sand and rock at her. Miss Martian managed to fly into the sky and out of the attack range. But Primaid tackled her from behind.

The two females grappled midair. Primaid shifted her body and grew an extra three arms to punch and scratch at M'gann. He lovely face was rabid with rage. She yelled into M'gann's face with a furious betrayal. "I knew we couldn't trust you!"

M'gann shifted her own body and a second pair of legs shot out from her stomach right into Primaid's chest. Stunned and with the wind knocked out of her, she couldn't defend herself when M'gann grabbed her around her shoulders and twisted her toward the ground.

The white Martian hit the ground with a teeth shattering impact. A groan and shift of her arms proved that she was still alive, but she was out of the fight.

But M'gann had no time to savor the small victory. Two large boulders went flying toward her. M'gann was barely able to phase shift before she would have been flattened. Protex and Zenturian flew towards her. Their eyes glowing in rage.

 _"Don't you understand that this is the only way any of us, any white Martians will have our liberty!"_ Protex sent another large rock at M'gann, but she used her own powers to send it hurtling back at her attackers.

Protex managed to dodge it, but Zenturian wasn't fast enough. The boulder hit him head on and together they crashed into the canyon wall.

Protex was furious. M'gann could feel it, his thoughts were scattered by his rage. He had lost his focus, she had once felt like that. Drowning in her own anger and despair.

Right before she had hurt Kaldur.

Protex telekinesis swirled around them, her own powers mixing along side. Like ingredients in a blender. The desert was caught in the psychic field and pulled into a sand twister around them.

Superboy took another solid punch to the face. He felt the hard wall of the canyon give under the force of his impact. He just managed to duck under the massive fist of Stompa. She was still grinning, enjoying the game.

In the split second after her fist hit the canyon wall Superboy launched a fist into her chin. She staggered backwards. He pressed his advantage, he kicked out her ankles. She lost her balance for a moment and it was all Superboy needed.

His shoulder made impact with her mountain of a chest and she went flying for several yards.

Right into mad Harriet who had been slashing her claws against the hard shell of a tortoise shaped Beast Boy. The two Apokoliptian females tumbled back some ways. Near the boom tube.

Beast Boy shifted into his human form and rose to his feet. "Thanks for the save." Then, as if realizing a mistake, he added, "I totally had it under control though."

"Sure kid," his eyes rolling at the stubborn freshman mentality. They _never_ needed help.

That's when the wind picked up and sand flew everywhere. Instinctively the heroes lifted their arms to protect from the onslaught.

Superboy activated his infrared vision. He could make out M'gann and Protex in the center of the tornado. He was reminded of the first time they had faced Psimon.

"M'gann!" he cried out to her, as he and beast boy ran toward the eye of the storm.

M'gann was thinking about that first fight with Psimon as well. Dragged into the mindscape against her will. Her telepathic link used as a doorway into the minds of her teammates and used to hurt them.

 _No!_

Her own rage was building. She hadn't _let_ herself think about it all this time. Undercover among the Hyperclan. All those white Martians that just wanted a place to belong. A place to be equal. A home or a family where their own had rejected them on the soul basis of a chance of birth.

But as she looked at Protex, whom she had almost begun to admire after only a two weeks. His eyes glowing so angry, his thoughts buzzed around her as they fought just outside the psychic plain. She realized the truth about the sad rebellion leader.

He and his didn't want equality. They wanted the white Martians to overthrow the green. To pay them back for all the injustices paid to them for all the years of mistreatment. Whether true or imagined.

Under him and his own clan. He wanted retribution and revenge where all green Martians would be enslaved or killed.

Protex was so obsessed with the crimes committed against him and his kind that he couldn't even see he had become what he so hated. It wasn't about justice or equality, it was about revenge and power. Power over someone else, an entire group of people that disagreed with Him and his ideas.

 _"I feel sorry for you."_ her voice was calm, if a bit tense. She paid no attention to the raging winds around them. Neither did Protex.

 _"Why?"_ his voice was far more strained. sweat ran down his face. His eyes glowed and dimmed in time with the wind around them. The question could have been a response, or still he couldn't contemplate the reasoning behind her betrayal against her own kind.

 _"Because you are can't see your own hypocrisy."_ M'gann sighed, then a wave of energy flew out from her body. And Protex was sent flying into a sand dune. His lids closed shut. But she hadn't done any permanent damage. He deserved it and worse for all the Martians he had manipulated to further his cause, but she had left his mind intact.

M'gann's feet touched down on the cold reddish sand. Her knees were shaky but she managed to stay standing. At least once Superboy put her arm around his shoulder.

"Easy M'gann, I got you." His voice was soft and warm, like it used to be whenever he spoke to her.

"Ya, you always did." Her own voice sounded wobbly and unsure. Like it had back in the beginning, before everything got complicated. But she couldn't help but smile back at him. He hadn't looked at her like that in so long. Worried, and proud and angry and relieved all at once.

Slow clapping interrupted the moment. Beast boy, despite his scraped up body, turned into a lion and stood in front of Superboy and miss Martian. Growling at the old woman as she approached them slowly.

"Well done dearies, Granny is very impressed indeed." She stood tall and proud, her strong jaw turned up. Her words and tone were like a trainer praising a puppy. For preforming an amusing trick they deserved some praise.

"But, our time together runs short. And there is still so much to be said."

In their mad dash to assist miss Martian, Superboy and Beast Boy hadn't noticed that the Apokoliptian had taken most of their promised cargo through the boom tubes. all that remained was the large yellow stone statue. Which Stompa had lifted onto her shoulder and was carrying it into the boom tube. Mad Harriet scurried backwards this way and that behind her, never looking away from the heroes.

"Stop!" M'gann acted out of instinct. Her hand outstretched toward Stompa as her eyes glowed.

Her intention had been to stun the woman. Just enough that she would drop the statue and give the team the opportunity to recover it before it was taken through the portal.

The backlash hit her like nothing M'gann had ever felt before.

Hard and sharp, toxic and painful, and _so very painful!_ It stung and she actually flew backwards out of Conner's grip by the shear power that beat her back from even the barest glance into the woman's mind.

Only for an instant she saw a face. Stone skin with glowing red eyes and a grin like a bottomless pit in its dark intent.

"M'gann!" Garfield yelled to her but he didn't move, he couldn't give ground. He glared at the women in front of him. Beside him the Super-Cycle revved angrily, her lasers glowing in preparation for a battle.

Superboy was conflicted for a moment as well. But he made a move despite the fact that he clearly wanted to stay by M'gann's side. He leapt over the unconscious Hyperclan and landed right between Stompa and the boom tube.

To her credit, Stompa didn't look at all intimidated. She lowered her stance and raised a fist, only shifting the weight of the statue slightly in order to accommodate herself. "You ready for another go, Mutt?"

Mad Harriet had moved to Granny's side. She glared at Beast Boy, sphere and the recovering M'gann with a manic eagerness. Her claws out and her whole body ready to strike.

But Granny pet her green hair again. Like a cat, Harriet rubbed herself against the large hand. Eager for the attention. "Now, now, my dear little Martian, you shouldn't strain yourself, doing a silly thing like that." She chided M'gann like she was a little kid running with scissors.

"You might be able to get past the defenses Granny has made for all her children, if you were still willing to push hard enough. Such a shame you won't take what you need. To shatter and dissolve your enemies minds until victory is yours." She shook her head, looking genuinely disappointed at M'gann's hard won battle with her own cruelty. "Granny would have enjoyed seeing that."

M'gann looked pale. Which was quite a feat, given the moonlight overhead already flushed the landscape in silver and white.

"How do you…How!" a whisper became a yell as M'gann pulled herself up to her feet. The fight with the Hyperclan and the mental resistance put up by the psychic block around Stompa's mind had taken their toll on her. She didn't know how much longer she would last.

"Granny Goodness knows everything about you and your little friends. The young team of heroes that fight for earth." Her smile was smug and amused at the same time. "Granny has a little bird that's been telling her all about the little heroes."

A shivering cold ran up M'gann's spine. A glance in Conner's direction told her that he felt the same fear. The horrible feeling of déjà vu. Five years ago, their first year. That first betrayal.

 _Not again… Please, not again._

"But, time is short and playtime is done for the day." The disturbing calm of her voice, like she was surrounded by mindless children, sent an unnerving tingle down Garfield's body. "The Furies and I will just take what we are owed and be on our way home. Granny won't even let them kill any of you Earthlings."

"Not a chance." M'gann still shaky, but she would fight. She wouldn't let them leave without the answers they needed.

"Not a _choice_. My dearie." Granny pulled a Fatherbox from her side, pressed a large red button under her thumb.

"I have just activated the high density combustion bombs that were hidden in the weapons we traded to the Hyperclan. By now they are deep inside the Hyperclan stronghold. If Granny were to press the switch, well. I imagine you can guess."

* * *

M'gann couldn't move, she couldn't even breathe. Combustion bombs were deadly to Martians under the best circumstances. But so far underground as the Hyperclan base was, full of white Martians. All those people in the living quarters. Women and children, whole families fighting for a place on this world.

"We will be going now. And once we are through, I will leave you with the detonator. "That doesn't seem unfair to Granny now does it dear little Martian?" She paused, waiting for an agreement. When she received only silence her voice grew harsher and colder.

"Does it!" Her thumb was flat against the button, if she were to release the pressure. The entire mountain would go up in flames.

M'gann swallowed hard. No one moved, Harriet and Stompa seemed rather amused by the whole situation if the low chuckles were anything to go by.

There wasn't a choice. Not for something like this. Even if it meant sacrificing the mission. It was her call. But there wasn't even a call to make.

Her head dropped in a defeated nod.

Granny smiled. "See how reasonable children can be, as long as you do what Granny says." Her arm lowered but her thumb never left the button. "Come furies, its time to go home."

Granny gestured for Stompa to go through the portal.

Her dark was clear enough for Stompa to exchange a scathing grin with the menacing glare from Superboy, who had no choice but to let the large woman walk right past her with the large statue still on her shoulder.

In a lowered voice she gave one last goad. "Be ready for that round two, mutt."

Conner's fists tightened so hard he could feel his nails digging into his skin. He glared after the retreating form of Harriet who chased, almost happily after her cohort.

Granny took her sweet time. Walking calmly up to the portal still fingering the button that would kill a hundred Martians. The pace was infuriating. Grating on Super boy's nerves and his temper. The woman had won, did she have to be so calm and smug about it.

Then finally she stood at the very edge of the boom tube. Already her body shifted in and out of focus. The space warping technology was trying to pull her through.

"Alright." M'gann's voice snapped "The detonator, now!" Less than a foot away from Granny and the portal. She held out her hand. Conner could hear the slight shake in her voice.

"Of course my dear, as promised." Granny placed the remote into M'gann's hand.

Then released the button.

The explosion was almost instantaneous. The temple of Z'onn Z'orr was almost a mile away from the canyon. Still the shockwave knocked the heroes off their feet. Boulders broke off from the canyons walls and whole sections came crashing down in landslides. But that was nothing to compare to the fire.

The heat was incapacitating. A tower of fire, red, yellow blue and violet spinning together in a terrifying mountain of flame where Z'onn Z'orr once stood. Not a cloud of energy and smoke like a nuclear explosion. Just fire. A tower of fire like something out of the gospel.

"Never let it be said that Granny doesn't keeps her promises!" Her laughing voice snapped the heroes out of their shock but it was too late. The boom tube was already dissipating. The sound of Granny Goodness cruel laughter was all that remained behind.

M'gann started running. Too out of focus to fly, so she ran. Toward the flames. If she could help? If she could still save them? Save someone? Anyone?

"M'gann! Stop!" a voice she couldn't recognized and arms she didn't want around her held her from the fires.

"N-nn-No! We have to h-help! We-…I h-have to-to do something! I-I have to! I have t-t-t!" but her sobbing was too much now. She couldn't even speak. He mind was too scattered, her powers were lost to her.

She collapsed into Conner's strong arms. She could feel Garfield wrapping his own arms around her. He was shaking almost as much as she was. They all knew the truth. Though none wanted to say it out loud.

Fire was deadly to Martians. And trapped in a closed space like that, the fire would have found its way into every nook and cranny of the ancient stronghold.

None of the Martians inside would have survived.

* * *

 **Mars: July 21, 07:01 UTC**

They sat in the backyard of B'arzz home. A modest place in what Conner assumed was the Martian equivalent of a gated community. Odd purple trees with branches like bubbles lined a small garden.

But he didn't really see anything. The small furry green cat that was Garfield sat in his lap. Looking just as miserable as Conner felt.

M'gann was sleeping in a guestroom that B'arzz had offered. The battle had exhausted her. Mentally and physically. And all the Martian lives that had been lost? She deserved the rest.

The organic material of the house shifted into an oval opening of a door. B'arzz stepped out with a platter of pinkish drinks floating by his side.

"Drink." Was the simple request as a drink was pressed into his hand. Conner accepted the drink without thinking. And took a sip, the familiar taste of strawberry lemonade helped focus his thoughts.

"Thanks." Conner placed the second glass in front of Beast Boy. Who shifted back into his "normal" self.

The green boy took a few sips and managed a small smile. "Ya thanks man."

B'arzz smiled back gently. Knowing that the heroes were still tired and disheartened by the previous night's events. After hearing what had transpired, first hand from the heroes then the aftermath and the official story from the broadcasts of the council, B'arzz himself was feeling rather depressed.

"I can't help but feel some responsibility." He crossed his long limbs over the tray across his chest. "If I had not called you to Mars, then perhaps those off worlders would not have-"

"It wouldn't have made a difference." Superboy stared into his glass. Poking at the ice with his straw. "The bomb was inside the weapons that they were trading with the Hyperclan. They didn't know about us until after they arrived." His face went from angry to a resigned remorse very quickly. "Granny Goodness had already planned to betray them." He finished his lemonade in one last gulp.

B'arzz nodded slowly. Accepting the logic and the assumptions for what they were. He sighed, "The council has arrested the three survivors, Protex and his two followers. The science police are already working the area around Z'onn Z'orr."

"Have they, you know, found… anyone?" Beast boy spoke, his voice far more timid than his usually boisterous personality would allow.

The silence that B'arzz found himself unable to break was more than enough answer. He found himself unable to meet the eyes of either hero.

A sad moment of silence followed. Respect for the lives lost. So violently, so very pointlessly.

"How is M'gann?" the quiet was too much. B'arzz glanced toward the house. Superboy and Garfield followed his gaze.

"Resting, once she wakes up, we'll head for home." Conner spoke softly as if worried he would wake M'gann from her much needed rest.

But restful was not the correct word for M'gann's slumber. She twisted and tossed. The sheets tangled around her. Sweat shone off her skin. Nonsense syllables and sounds escaped her mouth.

 _Fire… so much…dark… to much fire… hot… so hot… to hot… dark… fire… fire everywhere… only fire… too much… too much!_

 _Granny Goodness standing above her. Cold sand beneath her, so cold now, so cold. But Granny burned, her smile burned._

 _Scared…fear… terror…all alone…_

 _Granny reaching out to her. The bomb in her hand? Empty… empty promise..._

 _Lies! Only Lies! All lies! Not true! Only Lies!_

"Just listen to granny little dear, granny will make the hurting stop. As long as you do what Granny says."

 _Too hot… fire… so much fire… no!… No!… NO!_

Her scream was loud and broken. Her blankets flew off of her, and a large mirror on the wall cracked.

She couldn't breath. The nightmare was so intense it hurt. It hurt so much. But the voice still haunted her. The sickeningly sweet voice of Granny never breaking a promise, but still the promise was a lie.

 _Granny will make the hurt stop dearie, just do what Granny tells you and the hurting will stop._

And as disgusted as M'gann felt for thinking it. during those few dark and lonely seconds of her dream, she was almost tempted to accept the offer. The hurting and the guilt she felt at that moment was too great to handle. Her eyes burned and she only just processed that she was sobbing hysterically, again.

"M'gann! Are you all right?"

Conner, Conner was holding her. Holding her close. She was vaguely aware of B'arzz and Garfield in the doorway of the bedroom, but she could only process that she was in Conner's arms.

Just that was enough to make the horrible helpless feeling of loneliness and terror fade away like smoke. The burning of her skin was cooling as his scent surrounded her. Tense muscles loosened as Conner ran a strong hand across her back. Her sobs subsiding.

His words were simple reassurances "Just a nightmare, its alright, its over now, we'll head home soon." But they meant the world to her.

She looked up at him. His piercing blue eyes so full of worry and concern. She wanted to drown in them. To drown in him.

She couldn't stop herself.

She kissed him.

He didn't stop her.

 **Mars Science Police Headquarters: July 21, 07:10 UTC**

The capital city was quiet. The twin moons only now setting and the Martian day only just beginning. Commander Ma'alefa'ak J'onzz was not bothered by such trifles as he made his way down the halls of the Science Center.

The sad remains of the Hyperclan had been successfully locked away and all damages and casualties were blamed on the dangerous actions of the renegade group of revolutionaries. The public had been assured that the dangerous white Martians were gone and the criminals were locked up.

Ma'alefa'ak felt the satisfaction as he thought about the press release just minutes ago. The Hyperclan had been eradicated and the white Martian population had been succesfully put in their place.

All without having to get his own hands dirty. His _dear_ niece had done a wonderful job.

He arrived in his private office. Quietly he telepathically scanned his immediate area to make sure that no one was around. He didn't want anyone to interrupt or overhear his meeting.

The holoscreen blinked to life as he dialed his contact. Static silently filled the video feed as the technology calculated the galactic time difference. Before a shadowed face appeared.

"You were correct my friend." Ma'alefa'ak spoke first, knowing his contact had as little patients for the trivialities of small talk as he himself had. "The operation went exactly as you said. Our agreement stands."

"Of course, my dear Commander J'onzz." The graveled voice of Granny Goodness echoed over the communication screen, sounding very pleased with herself. "Every good leader needs a villain to unite his people against. And now you have yours."

Ma'alefa'ak couldn't help but grin as he thought about his victory. This entire incident was nothing but the spark that would ignite the powder keg of war between the races. Only hours since the tragedy at Z'onn Z'orr, advocates and protests were spilling onto the streets of mars, desperate to find someone, anyone to blame for the deaths of their kinsmen.

All he had to do was wait for the natural inclination of the white to blame the green. Then all it would take was some well placed "retribution" against the green Martians. Then the fires would rain down on mars.

And only the strongest would survive the inferno.

"And of course as we agreed granny, the supply of the material you seek will continue unencumbered. My crews at the citadel are already finding hidden deposits of it amidst the wreckage."

As far as the general public of mars, and nearly all of the higher official of the council and the high priests and priestesses, the science officers investigating the fire bomb of Z'onn Z'orr were looking for survivors. And would continue to do so for several weeks to come. The tunnels of the ancient stronghold were miles deep. Some were said to go straight into the icy center of the planet. Just in case any one had escaped the flames.

But Ma'alefa'ak and a small circle of officials knew the truth.

"The incendiary bomb you activated has cleared the way deep into the bedrock. Already reports of more artifacts of the substance you have requested have been found and are being placed into storage for later transport as we speak."

"Excellent, Lord Darkseid will be very pleased indeed."

A scream from somewhere behind granny pulled her away.

"Do excuse me my dear commander J'onzz. Granny is needed elsewhere." a wicked smile came over granny's face.

"Of course." Ma'alefa'ak grinned pleasantly and gave a shallow bow as the transmission cut out. He sat at his desk and began his work.

* * *

Hope you like it, please review, let me know what you liked or didn't like.

so i reread this for the first time in a while and my dyslexic brain only now realized that it was missing a whole scene at the end. hope you like the addition. its pretty important for some later stuff.


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